Barbra
by singntheshower
Summary: It was either work off her time on a ranch, doing physical labor, or go to jail. Her public defender said working on a ranch was a great thing for her, but Rachel Berry wasn't sure. She didn't even know how everything got all screwed up in the first place. A/U Finchel. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I own nothing except for my words. This fanfic is inspired by the television show, _Wildfire_.

Barbra

"I'm confused… Can you start over again?" Finn asked to his mom, Carole. She had called him into the house, making him stop giving Travis a good scrub down. Travis, his black and white horse, was the closest thing to a best friend that Finn Hudson had, except for his human friend, Puck. But Noah Puckerman was kind of an asshole, so Finn considered the thoroughbred horse better company.

"Do you remember my friend Janice?" Carole asked patiently, used to having to explain things to Finn numerous times. They both sat at the kitchen table, which was a bit empty since they were the only two at home anymore.

"Yeah," Finn replied. "She's the lawyer, right?"

"A public defender," Carole said with a nod.

"Right. So what about her?" Finn asked.

"She has this case she's working on. There's this girl that's gotten into some trouble. Janice can tell that she's not really a bad kid, so she talked the judge into making a deal," Carole explained.

"What kind of deal?"

"She's going to work here while on probation instead of sitting in jail," Carole said.

"Wait, you already said yes?" Finn asked, his voice growing louder. "Why didn't you ask me first?"

"Because last time I checked, it was my decision to make, Finn. Not yours," she said kindly. "Janice is my friend and I'm going to trust her judgment of this girl."

"What did she do?" Finn asked.

"Janice didn't really say the details, but it involves theft of some kind," Carole said, a little uneasily.

"So you're gonna let a thief into the house?" Finn asked incredulously. "What if she steals something, mom?"

"Honey, what is she going to take?" Carole asked with a smile. "One of the pigs?" Finn shrugged. "Finn, people make mistakes and she's paying for it. I want you to be nothing but nice to her."

"She just better not get in my way," Finn grumbled.

"Finn," Carole said warningly. "This ranch is too big for us to do all of the work ourselves. Just think about how much free time you'll have since she's helping us."

Finn thought for a few moments. "I guess it won't be that bad," he concluded.

Carole smiled. "That's right," she said. "Now, don't forget that your uncle's horse is being dropped off today, too."

"I already got a stall ready for her," Finn said. "What's the girl's name anyway?"  
"Rachel Berry," Carole replied.

"Alright. I gotta get back to Travis," Finn said before standing up and walking toward the door.

"Keep an eye out for Rachel," Carole called. Finn raised his hand, signaling to his mom that he heard her.

Despite his mom's insistence, he still wasn't too excited about this.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel Berry looked out of the window of the cab, frowning slightly at her surroundings. She already missed the hustle and bustle of the city of Denver, Colorado. Sure, it probably wasn't as busy as New York or something like that, but it was still busier than this place.

Springfield, Colorado. The place where the farm animals outnumbered the people.

It's not that the wilderness wasn't beautiful – Rachel thought the scenery was stunning. But a city girl like her wasn't used to working on a ranch. She didn't know the first thing about farm work.

That being said, she had no idea why Janice insisted that working on a ranch would be a blessing for Rachel.

Well, it was probably better than jail.

"It's right down this road," the cab driver said. That was the first time he'd spoken throughout the entire hour-long cab ride.

Rachel craned her neck, trying to look around the new place she'd be living and working. To her left, she saw a white fence, surrounding what she thought must have been the property of the Hudsons. She didn't know much about the family other than their name and the fact that Janice was a friend of the owner of the ranch.

A smile automatically grew on her face when she spotted a few horses grazing within the confines of the fence. Rachel had always loved horses ever since she was a little girl. Her fathers weren't the kinds of fathers that promised their daughter that she'd have a pony one day, so Rachel never thought she'd be around horses. Now it seemed like she'd be taking care of some.

The road was longer than she expected, meaning the Hudsons had a large piece of land. She really hoped they didn't expect her to cut the grass or anything.

Finally, the house came into view. It was only one story, but it was pretty large and very well taken care of. It was mostly made of dark red brick, with beautiful, different colored flowers everywhere the eye could see. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad living here.

The cab came to a stop and Rachel climbed out before walking around to the trunk. The trunk popped open and Rachel started pulling her bags out. She had one large suitcase and two duffel bags which she carried away from the cab, setting them down on the ground close to the house. She then closed the trunk and walked to the driver's side of the car.

"How much is it?" Rachel asked, pulling the money Janice had given her out of her pocket.

"Fifty six bucks," the cabbie read off of the display. Rachel's eyes widened, but she grabbed three twenties and handed them to the cab driver, leaving her with ten dollars.

"Keep the change," Rachel said with a small smile.

"Thanks," the cab driver said with a smile. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you," Rachel said. "You, too."

She backed away from the cab as it turned around, heading back up the driveway. The tires of the cab made dust rise up into the air, causing Rachel to cough a bit. She figured she'd have to get used to that.

She walked up to the door timidly, not sure of the kind of reception she'd be getting. It wasn't every day that people welcomed someone like her into their home. Rachel knocked three times lightly before stepping back. She waited patiently, and moments later, the door was pulled open.

A beautiful middle aged woman stood there with a warm smile on her face. She was taller than Rachel and her smile made Rachel wonder how her mother looked when she smiled.

"You must be Rachel," Carole said, snapping Rachel out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I am," Rachel said, flashing her brightest smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hudson." Rachel held out her hand, but Carole pushed it to the side.

"We hug around here, sweetie," Carole said before stepping forward and pulling Rachel in for a hug. Rachel was surprised for a moment but hugged her back tightly, not remembering the last time that she was hugged like this.

"Now, Finn should be around any minute and he'll show you where you'll be living," Carole said. "I hope you don't mind, but there's a small trailer around back that'll be all yours."

"That's fine," Rachel said quickly. "I'm just grateful that you're letting me stay here at all."

"You're so sweet," Carole said with a smile. "And adorable. I was expecting someone more…"

"Delinquent-looking?" Rachel asked with a laugh.

"Well, yes," Carole admitted, her cheeks blushing.

"I understand," Rachel said. "Don't worry about it."

"Now, Finn will explain to you what you should do every day. We need help with the horses and the other animals, along with the basic upkeep with this place. You're so tiny, so I hope you can handle it," Carole said.

"I'll try my best," Rachel said with a smile. "If you don't mind me asking, will I be meeting anyone else in the family? I just want to get to know the people I'll be working around."

"It's just me and my son, Finn," Carole said. "My other son, Kurt, is living in New York. He's in college. Their father died a while ago."

"I'm so sorry," Rachel said quickly, embarrassed that she had brought it up. "I'm sure that's still painful for you to talk about. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Honey, don't worry about it," Carole said warmly. "It's alright." Rachel nodded with a small smile, still mentally kicking herself.

"There's Finn now," Carole said, looking past Rachel with a smile. Rachel turned slightly, wanting to see the guy she'd be working alongside for the next couple of months.

She had to keep her jaw from dropping.

He was _gorgeous_. He was _so_ tall, taller than her meager 5 foot 2 inch frame. And had a very kind-looking face. Well, except for the slight frown he was sporting.

"Finn, this is Rachel," Carole introduced as he walked closer.

"Hey," Finn said nonchalantly. Rachel was caught off guard. She expected him to be more kind like his mother was.

_I guess the apple doesn't fall anywhere near the tree_, she thought.

"Hello," Rachel said, still smiling positively despite his slightly cranky demeanor.

"Finn, can you show her to the trailer in the back?" Carole asked. "I put clean sheets on the bed in there this morning, honey. It's all fixed up for you," she said to Rachel.  
"I really appreciate that, Mrs. Hudson," Rachel said, her smile not leaving her face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. But please call me Carole," she replied.

"Okay, Carole," Rachel said.

"Where's your stuff?" Finn asked in a monotone voice.

"Right over there," Rachel said, pointing to her bags. Finn walked over toward them and grabbed the suitcase and one of the duffel bags. "Finn, I can carry those."

"I got it," he replied.

"O-okay," Rachel said, slightly intimidated by his tone. "Thank you."  
"Yeah," Finn replied. He then started walking. "Follow me," he called behind him.

Rachel hurriedly picked up her other duffel bag, heaving it over her shoulder before following Finn.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn still wasn't very happy about this whole setup. He was caught a little off guard with how Rachel looked, though. He was expecting a tough-looking chick with tattoos or something, not some _tiny_ chick that was actually kind of hot. Still, he didn't think that she'd be much help around the place since she was so small.

"I really hope you have work boots," Finn said when they came to a stop outside of the trailer. He set her bags down before looking down at her feet, noticing that she was wearing gym shoes. "Those will get ruined in, like, ten minutes."  
"Janice bought me some," Rachel said in a small voice. She was quieter now, not sounding at all like the same girl that was talking to his mom.

"Good," Finn replied. He turned back to the trailer and opened the door. "This is where you'll be staying." He grabbed her bags and walked up the stairs, with Rachel following close behind. The trailer was actually pretty nice. It was the place where their old farmhand, Mr. Schuester, had lived until he got engaged. Then, he moved out, leaving Finn and his mom to handle the ranch themselves.

"You've got an A/C and bed. And a small fridge and a whole bathroom," he said.

"This is great," Rachel said, looking around. She had a small smile on her face while looking around, and Finn wondered why she seemed so damn _happy_. He thought she'd be complaining about having to live in a trailer as opposed to the house.

"I'll, uh- I'll give you a while to unpack," he said. "Change into your boots and meet me at the stables when you can. Just go back toward the house and keep walking. You can't miss it," he said.

"I will. Thank you, Finn," Rachel said with a smile. He nodded before walking back down the stairs of the trailer.

By the time he made it back to the stables, he still hadn't stopped thinking about Rachel's smile.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel had unpacked her things quickly, not wanting to set a bad impression her first day. Well, it already seemed like Finn didn't like her, but she hoped to change that quickly.

She laced up her boots and put her hair into a ponytail before observing herself in the mirror of her new bathroom. She was wearing a form-fitting gray t-shirt with a pair of jeans. Since Rachel didn't have any "farm wear," Janice had taken her shopping at a secondhand store before sending her to the ranch.

She looked different than the Rachel from Denver, but maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.

With one last smile at her reflection, she left her trailer, walking in the direction that Finn told her.

He was right. It was impossible to miss the stables. The building was painted a bright red with crisp white trimmings, the colors reminding Rachel of a candy cane.

She walked inside slowly and her nose scrunched up at the smell of the place.

"You'll get used to the smell," she heard Finn say. She turned to the right and saw him looking at her from inside one of the stalls. He even had a tiny smile on his face, which Rachel thought made him look quite handsome.

"I hope so," Rachel replied. "So… what should I do first?"

"Well, you can help me with these stalls," he said. "The horses are out grazing. We need to clean them out and put in new hay before bringing them back in."

"Okay," Rachel said. "So what do I do?"

Finn chuckled and Rachel saw some adorable dimples for two seconds before they vanished. He walked out of the stall and led Rachel toward a wheelbarrow.

"Here's some gloves," he said, handing them over. "Those are yours now, so don't lose them." Rachel nodded. "Now, you use this rake-looking thing and scoop the horse shit into the wheelbarrow."

"Um, okay," Rachel said uneasily.

"It's not that bad," Finn said. "The faster we get this done, the faster you get to meet the horses." This brought a smile to Rachel's face and she grabbed the gloves enthusiastically, putting them on quickly. She then maneuvered the wheelbarrow over next to the one beside where Finn was.

She then picked up the horse pooper scooper (which she thought was a better name than rake-looking thing) and walked over toward the mess the horse made in the corner.

Holding in a groan of displeasure, she scooped up the dirtied hay.

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you make money by running a ranch?" Rachel asked when she was on her third stall.

"People pay to keep their horses here," Finn replied from the stall next to her. "We also fatten up pigs and sell those and chicken eggs."

"Why do you fatten up pigs and sell them?" Rachel asked curiously. Honestly, her arms were starting to hurt from scooping, but talking with Finn kept her distracted.  
"Well, we sell them to slaughterhouses," Finn said. It all made sense now.

"Oh," Rachel replied in a quiet voice.

"Why'd you say that like that?" Finn asked after a few moments.

"I used to be a vegan," Rachel explained. "The thought of eating animals is still hard for me to accept."

"Why'd you stop being a vegan?" Finn asked.

"It became difficult to continue over time," she said. "It's hard to stay vegan when the only things you can eat are non-vegan foods."

"I don't get it," Finn admitted. "Why could you suddenly not eat vegan food?"

"It's a long story for another time, Finn," Rachel replied. She didn't really feel like talking about her entire messed up life right now.

"Okay," Finn replied. Rachel was grateful that he dropped the subject.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

"And this is Travis," Finn said, rubbing the horse's nose. "He's mine." Rachel smiled at the tall horse before reaching out and carefully rubbing the side of his face.

"He's beautiful," Rachel said. "So Travis and Daisy are yours, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Daisy's my mom's horse," Finn replied.

"Does Kurt have a horse?" Rachel asked.

"No," Finn laughed. "Kurt _hates_ horses."

"How can anyone hate horses?" Rachel asked, stroking Travis's face again.

"He got bit once," Finn replied. "He's hated them ever since." Rachel couldn't help herself – she laughed along with Finn. Travis was the biggest of all eight horses at the ranch, which made sense since Finn was so tall.

Rachel pulled her hand away from Travis and he made a whining noise before stepping toward her and bumping his nose into her. Rachel laughed before petting him again.

"I think he likes you," Finn said, still petting Travis's side.

"Well, I like Travis, too," Rachel said, smiling at the horse.

"Well, we still got some stuff to do," Finn said. "I'm gonna put Travis up. Follow me and I'll give you the food for the pigs."

"Alright," Rachel replied. Finn grabbed Travis's reins and clicked his tongue. Travis started walking beside Finn, with Rachel following the two of them.

The bucket of slosh that was for the pigs was heavier than Rachel expected – and it also stunk horribly. Her already sore arms were straining as she awkwardly walked over toward where the pigs were kept.

There were four large pigs on the inside of the fence. They were covered in what Rachel hoped was mud, but they still managed to look incredibly cute.

"Poor little things," she whimpered. She knew that pretty soon, these adorable pigs would be killed just so that people could enjoy bacon and other foods.

For Rachel to feed the pigs, she had to lift the bucket up over the fence, which was as tall as her chest. She grabbed the handle of the bucket and lifted it with everything she had, grunting a little out of exertion. Once the bucket was lifted high enough, Rachel set it on the top of the fence and held it steady.

The bowl where she had to put the food was right underneath where the bucket was, so she just had to tip it over gently and let it fall into the bowl.

Easier said than done.

As she tipped the bucket over, it fell out of her grasp and landed upside down in the food bowl. The pigs started going crazy and pushed the bucket out of the way with their noses in an attempt to get to the food.

"Crap," Rachel whimpered. How the hell was she going to get the bucket back? It was too wide to fit between the gaps in the wooden fence.

Well, she _could_ climb the fence and reach over and grab it.

With a nod of determination, Rachel placed one of her feet on a wooden beam of the fence and pulled herself up. She then tried to reach over and grab the bucket, but her fingers barely scratched the bottom of it.

So, she climbed up another rung of the wooden fence and reached over farther.

The pigs were snorting as they still ate and she was afraid that they were going to bite her, but it was her first day and she was going to get the bucket back. If she messed up over something as simple as feeding the pigs, Finn would laugh at her and Carole might reconsider having her around.

She pushed the bucket onto its side, jumping a little and pulling her fingers away when a pig came close to her fingers.

"Be nice," she chided. She reached for the bucket again and almost had it when her balance got away from her, sending her falling forward into the pigs' pen.

She was sure she was going to get a face full of mud when, for some reason, she stopped falling.

"What the hell are you doing?" she heard Finn ask exasperatedly. She then felt his hand on her leg, holding her upright.

"I was trying to get the bucket back," she grumbled. Finn then grabbed her arm and pulled her upright. She climbed down off of the fence and faced Finn, who was smiling widely.

"What?" she snapped, embarrassed that he caught her in such a strange position. Wordlessly, he walked around to the other side of the fence and unlocked it before walking inside. Rachel could feel her face growing red as Finn grabbed the bucket out of the bowl and walked back out. He locked the fence, looked at Rachel and laughed.

"Well, I didn't see that gate there," she said, crossing her hands over her chest.

"Obviously," Finn chuckled.

"Well, they were fed, weren't they?" she asked in a huff.

"Yeah they were," Finn agreed. "And you almost face planted in pig shit," he chuckled.

"I was going to thank you, but since you insist on making fun of me, I won't," she said. She then turned on her heel and marched away. She went into the stables and sat on a bale of hay with her arms crossed tightly across her chest.

Moments later, she heard Finn's heavy footsteps entering the stables. She looked at the ground, still embarrassed, as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Rach, I didn't mean to laugh at you," he grumbled. Her eyes widened at the nickname, but she didn't comment on it.

"Yes, you did," Rachel replied quietly.

"Well… yeah, I mean… it was funny, but I shouldn't have laughed," he replied.

Rachel looked up at him and could tell that he looked really sorry.

"I'll forgive you if you answer a question for me," Rachel said.

"Okay. Shoot," Finn said before putting his hands in his pockets.

"Earlier when I got here, you didn't seem too fond of me. Now you're… tolerating me. What changed?" she asked curiously.

Finn took a deep breath before answering. "Honestly, I thought you'd just come here and complain and not really help. But you didn't complain and you helped me clean the stalls in half the time it would have taken me to do it on my own," Finn replied. "You're pretty cool, Rachel. I just wasn't expecting that."

Rachel was taken aback. She was just looking for an explanation, not a compliment.

"Well, thank you, Finn," Rachel said. "You're not so bad yourself." He smiled and she saw those dimples again. She couldn't but think that he was incredibly handsome _and_ cute. Most guys were one or the other, but Finn was both. Oh, and sexy, too. She looked away from him quickly. She shouldn't be thinking these things. Someone like _Finn_ would never go for a girl like Rachel Berry.

They both turned toward and looked toward the barn doors when they heard the sound of a large vehicle pulling up to the barn.

"Were you expecting someone?" Rachel asked.

"That's probably the new horse we're getting," Finn said. Rachel smiled and jumped up quickly, walking outside ahead of Finn.

The black pickup truck had a horse trailer on the back of it. It came to a stop right outside of the stables. Rachel rushed up to it to get a glimpse of the horse.

It was a beautiful cinnamon color with random splashes of white. It was probably one of the prettiest horses that Rachel had ever seen.

Finn went over to talk to the driver of the truck while Rachel reached her hand inside to pet the horse. It was tall, so she could only reach the side of its stomach, but she felt warm as she pet the horse. Warm and loved.

"She's pretty, right?" Finn said as he walked back to Rachel's side.

"Pretty is a major understatement," Rachel replied, her hand still rubbing the side of the horse.

"Help me get her out, will ya?" Finn asked

"Of course," Rachel replied. She pulled her hand back and followed Finn around to the back of the trailer. He unhitched the heavy lock and pulled the door open. The horse made a strange vibrating sound with its mouth closed.

"What was that?" Rachel asked.

"It's called a nicker," Finn said with a smile. "It's the sound a horse makes when it's saying hello."

"How do you know that?" Rachel asked.

Finn shrugged. "Grow up around horses and you learn a thing or two," he replied. "All right. C'mon, sweetie," he crooned to the horse. The horse walked forward and went straight for Rachel.

"So I'm guessing she's a girl," Rachel said with a smile. The horse stopped right in front of her and Rachel ran her hand down its face, stroking it gently. The horse made the same noise as before.

"Yup," Finn replied. "And she really likes you."

"What's her name?" Rachel asked.

"She doesn't have one," Finn replied. "My uncle got her when she was young. He didn't really want her anymore, so he sold her to my mom for a good price."

"Hmmm… We need to think of a name for her then," Rachel said.

"You can take her to her stall. I'll go thank Chuck for bringing her down," Finn said. With a nod, Rachel grabbed the horse's reins and clicked her tongue like Finn did earlier to Travis. She smiled widely when the mare followed her right away.

She walked her to the second last stall and led her inside.

"Good job, girl," Rachel said happily. She reached her hand up and petted the horse's side as she had before. The mare made the same noise as before, making Rachel smile. "Hello to you, too," she laughed. She continued petting the horse and heard Finn walking toward the stall.

"How was she?" Finn asked, walking into the stall.

"Just fine," Rachel said with a smile. "But she needs a name."

"You're right," Finn agreed. He stepped forward and stroked the horse's other side. "Any ideas?"

In an instant, the perfect name popped into her mind.

"Her name's Barbra," Rachel replied, smiling up at the horse.

Finn laughed. "Alright. Barbra it is," he said, his smile matching hers.

As Rachel nuzzled against Barbra's side, she could tell that this was just the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

TBC

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

A/N: So, what did Rachel do to get her in trouble? Will she be able to handle life on the ranch? Please keep reading to find out! The next chapter will be posted soon :) Oh, and please leave reviews to tell me if you like it!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Your response to this story was completely unexpected and overwhelming! I am so glad that all of you are enjoying yourselves! I was asked by a reader when and if Finn and Rachel would fall in love and if Rachel would have any competition. I can tell you that there aren't any romantic interests for Finn at the current time (which will be explained in this chapter), so Rachel doesn't have any competition. However, things aren't going to be easy for Finchel. When and if they fall in love will take some time to figure out. And there will be difficulties along the road. This isn't just a love story – there will be hurt and heartache as well. I hope you're ready!

I still own nothing.

Barbra: Chapter Two

A sudden banging on the door scared Rachel out of her slumber and sent her flying off of the bed, landing with a dull thud on the floor. She groaned, already having been totally sore from yesterday's work on the ranch. Her arms felt like jell-o from helping Finn move barrels of hay. Her back was sore, making her feel older than she was. Her eyes could barely stay open from being thoroughly exhausted.

She lifted her head up, realizing why she was still so tired.

It was still dark outside.

And yet, someone was still banging on her door.

"Rachel, breakfast's ready," she heard Finn's voice call through the door. "After we eat, we've gotta start chores."

Rachel groaned again and deeply considered ignoring Finn and just falling back asleep on the floor. She then remembered that Carole could tell Janice that Rachel was slacking during their mandatory weekly calls, which Janice would have to tell to Rachel's probation officer. That would certainly send Rachel back to Denver with a one way ticket to jail.

Her arms shook as she pushed herself up from the floor. Once she was standing, she realized that her feet were also aching from having worked so much in boots that weren't quite broken in yet.

She shuffled into her bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked half dead.

"Fantastic," she grumbled.

Ten minutes later, Rachel was regretfully ready for the day. She walked toward the house, almost tripping over something that she didn't see because of the dark.

Carole had made dinner last night, which Rachel thought was delicious despite the fact that it was far from vegan. But it wasn't the first time that Rachel had to eat a cheeseburger, so it didn't bother her that badly. Due to dinner being so excellent, Rachel was expecting a superb breakfast.

Carole didn't let her down.

In true country fashion, the spread for breakfast was rather large. Carole had made biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, eggs, toast… Every breakfast food that Rachel had ever eaten was on that table.

"Good morning, sweetie," Carole said, completely chipper this early. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Rachel replied before sitting in a chair at the table. Finn chuckled at Rachel's confession. He and Carole were already seated, enjoying their breakfast.

"Well, this work takes some getting used to," Carole said. "Help yourself to anything," Carole said, motioning to the food on the table.

Rachel poured herself some homemade orange juice, smiling at how amazingly perfect it tasted. Remembering the poor little pigs that were sitting outside, Rachel ignored the bacon. Once her stomach was full, making her feel even more tired, she offered to help Carole with the dishes.

"No housework for you," Finn chuckled. "You'll be helping me outside."

"Great," Rachel said to Finn, faking enthusiasm. He chuckled again, sensing her sarcasm.

"On the bright side, I think you'll be able to ride Barbra today," Finn said with a smile before walking out of the room. Rachel perked up instantly. Since yesterday was Barbra's first day at a new place, Finn didn't want to overwhelm the mare by making someone ride her, so she sat in the stable while Finn and Rachel took the other horses out.

It turned out that Rachel was actually a natural at riding horses, too.

But, of course, her butt was sore from sitting in the saddle for so long and her legs were sore from holding onto the horse. Despite all of that, she couldn't help but be excited at the thought of riding Barbra. For some reason, Rachel felt a connection to that horse – after one day, Rachel already loved her.

After stopping at her trailer to brush her teeth and grab her work gloves, Rachel wandered around, looking for Finn. She eventually found him in the stables outside of Barbra's stall.

"Is she doing alright?" Rachel asked quietly as she walked toward Finn, not wanting to startle the horses.

"She seems fine to me," Finn replied. "She's resting. I'm not noticing any nerves or anything. This is the smoothest transition I've ever seen a horse make."

Rachel came to a stop outside of Barbra's stall. Barbra instantly straightened up and walked over toward Rachel. She lifted her head over the short stall door and nudged Rachel gently.

"Good morning, Barbra," Rachel said with a wide smile. She ran her hand down the side of Barbra's face gently and the horse closed her eyes a bit.

"Why didn't she come say hi to me?" Finn grumbled.

Rachel laughed lightly. "Oh, don't be jealous, Finn," Rachel replied. "You've got Travis and I've got Barbra."

Finn chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. "So, are you ready to start?"

"Start what?" Rachel asked.

"Well, we've got to get the chickens' eggs and then scatter some hay over the fields. Then, mom wants some manure placed on the outside of the pigs' pen," Finn replied.

"What's that for?" Rachel asked, still stroking the horse.

"She wants to plant flowers there so it doesn't look so gross," Finn said with a smirk. "And then we've got to do a lot of what we did yesterday again. We're gonna give Barbra a bath since we don't know when's the last time she had one. And the rest of the horses need to be brushed before we clean their stalls again."

"Wow. Sounds like a lot," Rachel said, her body already aching at just the description of what they had to do.

Finn shrugged. "Like mom said, you'll get used to it," Finn said. "Oh, and you're gonna have to feed the pigs again."

She looked up at him and saw that he was trying to hide a smile. She glared at him and then turned back to the horse.

"Well, now that I know how, I'm sure I'll be fine," Rachel replied.

"I hope so," Finn snickered. "I told mom about it this morning. She thought it was pretty funny."

"And yet she didn't find it necessary to bring it up and humiliate me," Rachel pointed out, turning to shoot him another glare.

Finn shrugged. "My mom's nice and sometimes I'm a…"

"Jerk," Rachel supplied.

"Guess so," he said with a smirk.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel didn't quite understand why farmers or ranchers got up at before the sun even rose to start their day. In Rachel's opinion, it made more sense to start later in the day and work a bit later so that you could sleep in.

But then she kind of understood the reason why a little later. She was grabbing eggs from under the chickens in the chicken coop while the sun was rising. Part of Rachel feared that the chickens would peck at her hands for stealing the eggs, so she was incredibly excited when she walked away from the experience with all ten fingers still intact.

Then, as she walked toward a small barn with the eggs, she noticed the sunrise. The sky was pink, yellow, and orange all at the same time, reminding her of ice cream for some reason. It was truly beautiful. The colors all swirled together seamlessly as the sun rose higher.

She broke out of her reverie when the pigs started snorting from behind her, startling her. It wasn't until the sun was in the middle of the sky and after they ate sandwiches for lunch that Finn and Rachel started working with the horses.

Finn and Rachel each tied a horse to a post and started to brushed them thoroughly. Rachel smiled each time the horses made that vibrating sound that meant they were happy and comfortable.

"So how long are you gonna be here?" Finn asked. They hadn't exactly been keeping up conversation, lost in their own thoughts as they finished the day's chores.

"A couple of months," Rachel replied. She didn't really feel comfortable with going too much deeper into the topic, but she understood that Finn must have been curious. It's not every day that a stranger comes to live on your ranch to work off the time they would have spent in jail.

"What'd you do?" Finn asked awkwardly. "My mom said it had to do with theft, but she didn't say what it was…"

"Look, Finn," Rachel began. She stopped brushing the horse and looked at Finn, who was looking at her curiously. "The whole thing's just a long and messed up story that I'd rather not talk about. I got involved with things that I shouldn't have gotten involved with. Just know that I'm not a bad person and I didn't even want to do what I did in the first place. I just want to leave it all behind me and move on, okay?"

Finn nodded. "Okay," he agreed. "And I can tell you're not a bad person, Rachel." Rachel smiled widely, flashing that smile that had been on his mind since yesterday.

"You know, I don't even know how old you are," Rachel laughed, continuing brushing the horse's mane.

"Nineteen," Finn replied.

"So you graduated last year?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. How about you?"

"Eighteen. I just graduated in May," she said. "I was set up to go to college and then everything happened."  
"College where?" he asked.

"New York," Rachel replied. "It's a performing arts school. I got a full ride but then… you know."

"Yeah," Finn said. "Sorry about that."

"Well, it's certainly not your fault," Rachel said.

"Let's grab the next two horses," Finn said moments later. Rachel nodded and untied a young dark brown stallion from the post. She followed Finn and they led them to the large fenced-in field so that the horses could run around while they cleaned out the stalls.

"Did you have any plans after high school?" Rachel asked as they walked into the stables together.

"Nah," Finn replied. "After my dad died, my mom needed help around here since Kurt was going to college."

"But don't you feel a little… jealous that Kurt got to get out of here and see the world and you didn't?" Rachel asked.

Finn thought a moment. "Not really," he decided. "I love it here. What I get to do everyday makes me happy."

Rachel looked up and smiled at him. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters," Rachel said. Finn looked down at her and returned her smile.

Rachel was excited to give Barbra her first bath. The entire time, the mare made affectionate noises as Rachel scrubbed her clean. Finn cleaned out her hooves since Rachel didn't know how to do that yet.

"You know, I'm kinda nervous to try and ride Barbra," Finn chuckled.

"Why?" Rachel asked. She was currently petting Barbra again, the both of them loving each other's company.

"I don't think she'd let anyone but you ride her," Finn replied.

Rachel laughed. "Well, it's obvious that I'm her favorite, but she's a sweetheart," Rachel said. "She'd be gentle with you."  
"I hope so," Finn chuckled.

They both looked up at the same time when they heard a car coming down the driveway. Rachel's eyes widened after seeing the cherry red Mustang with black racing stripes.

"Who's that?" Rachel asked.

"That's Noah Puckerman," Finn said. "We've been friends since high school."

"Oh," Rachel said. "That's a nice car."

"Yeah," Finn chuckled. "He comes from money. That brown stallion you were brushing earlier, Collin, is his."

The car pulled up close to the stables and Puck climbed out quickly.

"Hey, Hudson," Puck called. "Who's this?" he asked, looking Rachel up and down appreciatively.

"This is Rachel," Finn said. "She's helping out around here." Rachel smiled politely at him and he smirked back.

"So this is the chick that had to work here or go to jail?" Puck asked. "She's hotter than I expected."

"How'd you know about that?" Finn asked the same time that Rachel's smile fell off of her face.

"Dude, your mom is best friends with my mom," Puck chuckled. "I'm sure the whole damn town knows by now." Rachel looked away awkwardly and returned her attention to Barbra, brushing her gently. "I'll be sure to keep my keys in my pocket. Wouldn't want her stealing my ride," Puck chuckled.

Rachel straightened up and dropped the brush. She turned and glared at Puck.

"Dude, that's not funny," Finn said, looking at his friend like he was disgusted.

Puck opened his mouth to speak, but Rachel interrupted him.

"Finn, I'm going to start on the stables," she said, her voice rough. "Can you finish with Barbra?"

"Yeah, Rach," he said, still glaring at Puck. Rachel then stomped off toward the stables, embarrassed and angry at the same time. She knows that it was just a joke and that Puck didn't really know the truth, but he was so close to the truth that it made her uneasy. And since when was it okay to rub someone's mistakes in their face? She didn't like Puck very much.

She was cleaning the second stall with a frown on her face when she heard Puck start his car and drive up the driveway. She breathed a sigh of relief, not really wanting to be the butt of his stupid and offensive jokes.

She was about to walk into the third stall when Finn walked into the stables.

"He's gone," Finn said, sounding relieved. Rachel nodded but didn't say anything, stepping into the third stall. "I'm sorry for what he said. I told him not to make anymore jokes like that."

"Thank you," Rachel said quietly.

"Don't mention it," Finn said. He walked over to the wall and grabbed another horse pooper scooper, starting on the stall next to Rachel.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn checked the saddle after Rachel strapped it to Barbra. The mare stood still, not bothered by the saddle. He only had to tighten a few straps, but Rachel put everything on correctly.

"Nice job," Finn said with a smirk. "It took me a while to figure out how to put a saddle on right."

"Well, I am a quick study," Rachel said. "I wanted to be a performer, so I'm quite good at listening to directions and remembering them."

"Cool," Finn said. "What kind of performer?"

"Broadway," Rachel said. "Hence the school in New York."

"Right," Finn chuckled. "You'll have to show me what you've got some time."

"I'd love to," Rachel said with a smile. She then climbed up the saddle and onto Barbra. It was pretty funny to watch someone short like Rachel climb on a large horse, but somehow she managed by incorporating a small hop into her method of climbing onto to the horse's back.

She then waited patiently, murmuring to Barbra and petting her while Finn got his horse, Travis, ready for the ride. Once he was climbed on the tall stallion, he turned to Rachel.

"You wanna go on a trail today?" he asked. "I know a place we can stop and swim." It was really hot outside and Finn's dark shirt was sticking to his skin. Taking a swim would be perfect on a June day like this.

"Sounds great," Rachel replied. "Lead the way."

Finn and Rachel both gently nudged their horses with their heels, signaling them to start walking. Rachel clicked her tongue and Barbra picked up the pace a bit.

"How do you know how to do that?" Finn asked. "It's like you were raised around horses or something."

Rachel shrugged. "It's just coming naturally," she said with a smile.

"Well, Travis hasn't had a good gallop in a while. You ready to go faster?" Finn asked.

"I think Barbra's up for it," Rachel replied.

"Try and keep up," Finn teased. He then said something to Travis and dug in his heels again, making Travis take off. Rachel gently nudged Barbra again.

"Go, girl!" Rachel shouted. Barbra somehow knew what she wanted to do and started galloping. Finn, who had quite the head start, was still in Rachel's line of vision. Rachel leaned forward and called for Barbra to go faster. Pretty soon, they were right up next to Finn, both of the horses galloping along the wide path.

Rachel suddenly laughed, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping against her face. Finn looked over at her and smiled, liking the sound of her laugh.

Ten minutes later, they came to a stop at a small pond.

"It's actually deeper than it looks," Finn said after dismounting Travis. He led his horse over to the pond and let Travis drink and refuel. Rachel threw her leg over and slid off of Barbra gracefully. She walked to the front of Barbra and stroked the area under her eye.

"You're such a good girl," Rachel crooned. She then kissed Barbra's face before grabbing her reins and leading her over to the pond. Barbra bent down to drink and Rachel turned to see that Finn had already taken his shirt off. He was facing away from her and was unbuttoning his pants. Rachel blushed while staring at his broad back, which was tan due to him working outside every day. Of course, he wasn't as dark as her naturally tanned skinned.

She watched as he stepped out of his boots and took of his socks with his back still facing her. Then, his jeans fell to the ground and she could see his sensible blue boxers. He then turned to face Rachel and she looked away quickly, trying to make it like she wasn't staring.

"You coming in?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel replied. She bent down to untie her boots before pulling those and her socks off of her feet. She jumped a little when he heard a splash, turning to see the water sloshing around like someone had just jumped in. Finn then popped up to the surface, his hair more messy than usual. He ran his hand through it, pushing it back.

"The water feels awesome," he called before starting to float on his back.

"Turn around so I can undress," Rachel said. Finn chuckled and rolled his eyes but turned away from Rachel. She pulled her t-shirt off before unbuttoning her jeans and sliding them down her legs. She put her clothes on a rock and stood there in only her bra and underwear. It covered just as much as a bathing suit, right?

Rachel took her long hair out of its ponytail and put the ponytail holder on her wrist. She then climbed up on another rock and smiled before jumping in the air and pulling her legs in tight, doing a cannonball dive. She landed right next to Finn and her feet touched the bottom of the pond before she pushed off of it, swimming back to the surface.

She pushed her hair out of her face and saw that Finn was laughing.

"What?" she asked.

"That was a terrible cannonball," he mocked.

Rachel glared at him. "It's not my fault that I'm tiny," she replied.

"I'll show you how it's done," he said with a smirk. He swam to the edge of the pond and climbed out. Rachel's eyes were glued to his ass, made visible thanks to his boxers sticking to his body. He then turned around while standing on a rock and Rachel looked away again.

She turned back around just in time to see him land in the water, splashing more than her tiny body ever could. Hell, if Barbra jumped in, she wouldn't make that big of a splash.

Rachel giggled as Finn surfaced again.

"How was it?" he asked.

"Very impressive," Rachel said. "But I do think you have an unfair size advantage."  
"Not my fault," he chuckled.

When Barbra started making impatient sounds a little while later, Rachel laughed.

"Sounds like she's bored to me," Finn chuckled.

"It is close to dinner time, isn't it?" Rachel asked. Finn looked up and noticed that the sun was getting kind of low.

"You're right," he said. "Let's head back. " Rachel swam to the edge and climbed out first. Finn's eyes widened at seeing her in such a state of undress. He knew she was tiny, but her body was absolutely smokin'. Her underwear stuck to her ass, which was _insane_, and her legs were perfect and looked impossibly long. She bent over to pick up her jeans and Finn felt his dick twitch. He quickly looked away, realizing that he had to climb out of the pond and that a boner would be painfully obvious right now.

So, while Rachel was getting dressed, he climbed out in a hurry and pulled his jeans on, exhaling in relief that Rachel hadn't seen his excitement. She'd probably get pissed or something and then the two of them working together would be totally and completely awkward.

When he was fully dressed, he turned and saw that Rachel was dressed as well. She pulled her hair into another ponytail before adjusting her shirt. Since her bra was still wet, her t-shirt was starting to get water marks on it. Finn looked away before his body could get excited again.

"Ready to go?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn replied, still looking away. Rachel was confused, but she didn't say anything. She walked over to Barbra and patted her side gently.

Once she was at the horse's side, Rachel reached up and grabbed the saddle before putting her foot in the holster. It was pretty high up, so she thanked her years of dance training for helping her become so flexible. Then, she hopped and pulled herself up before swinging her leg over Barbra's back.

She turned and saw that Finn was already mounted on Travis's back. She was jealous that he could climb onto horses more easily than she could. That was one of the downsides to being short.

Still without looking at her, Finn brought Travis to a trot and started up the trail. Rachel shook her head, wondering what was wrong with Finn. She let out a breath before gently nudging Barbra with her heels to follow Finn and Travis.

During dinner, which was lasagna that tasted delicious, Finn avoided Rachel's gaze, looking down at his plate when speaking to her. Rachel looked at Carole questioningly, who noticed Finn's strange behavior, but Carole just shrugged.

As Rachel fell asleep that night, all she could think about was what she could have done wrong.

TBC

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

A/N: Please keep reading and reviewing! And thanks for giving this story a chance. There's plenty more to come!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I still own nothing. Please ignore grammatical errors. I tried to catch them all!

Barbra: Chapter Three

Two and a half weeks had passed and June had turned into July. It was only getting hotter outside, so Rachel had started wearing tank tops to do the ranch work. Finn had also changed up his wardrobe on hot days, deciding to ditch his t-shirt all together.

Rachel couldn't help but become distracted by Finn's shirtless state. The hard work on the ranch helped him to stay in impeccable shape. His abs were well defined and his arms were amazingly strong with huge muscles.

Rachel had started to develop some rather impressive arm muscles, too, thanks to all of the hard work she was doing. She was even used to getting up at five a.m. to help with the chores. Of course, that meant that she was usually asleep by nine at night, but so were Carole and Finn.

Rachel was also surprisingly starting to become very comfortable at the ranch. She almost didn't want to have to leave, but she knew that she had to eventually. Finn and Rachel had even become friends, which she wouldn't have guessed would have happened based on his behavior when they first met. And Carole felt like a mother to Rachel. She'd never had one before, but she always imagined that if her mother was around, she'd be just like Carole.

The most amazing part of it all was how close she and Barbra had grown. Rachel didn't even have to use Barbra's reins to lead her anywhere anymore – Barbra followed Rachel wherever she went. Finn was surprised that Barbra had taken to anyone so easily. Usually, it took horses a while to become close to someone. Finn had owned Travis since he was a colt and Travis still wandered away from Finn if Finn didn't have him tied to a post. Carole witnessed Barbra's obedient behavior and insisted that Rachel consider the mare hers.

"No, you bought her," Rachel insisted. "She's yours."

"Sweetie, that horse adores you," Carole replied. "I couldn't call her mine knowing how much she loves you."

"But what about when I leave?" Rachel asked in a small voice.

"Worry about that when it happens," Carole said, her warm and comforting smile never leaving her face. "Just enjoy your horse for now." Rachel hugged Carole tightly, thanking her for more than just Barbra. She was pretty sure that Carole understood what that hug meant since she returned it tightly.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel had everything she needed at the ranch – a place to live, clothes, food, a horse, friends… Well, everything except for one thing.

Money.

That was when Rachel decided to get a job. She talked to Finn and Carole about it and they supported her. She'd help Finn in the mornings with the chores around then would leave sometime in the afternoon to go and work.

They had it all planned out. Now Rachel just had to find a job.

Finn drove her into town on a Monday morning after the chores were done so she could look for a job.

"Thanks for the ride," Rachel said as she climbed out of his faded blue truck.

"You're welcome," Finn replied. "Call me when you're done." Rachel nodded before closing the truck's door. "Good luck!" she heard Finn call as she walked away. She turned and smiled at him before walking toward a restaurant.

She saw a "Help Wanted" sign in the window and hoped that she was what they were looking for. She had never had an official job before, but she was quick on her feet and attentive. She walked into the restaurant and noticed how busy it looked. The waitresses were walking around quickly and looked stressed as they took everyone's orders and brought them their food. Rachel walked up to the counter and saw a young Asian man behind there, making milkshakes.

"Excuse me?" she called. He turned and smiled at her warmly.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Um, yes," she said. "My name is Rachel Berry and I noticed a sign in the window and was wondering how I could apply for a job here."

He finished making a milkshake and placed it on the counter just as a waitress came by and grabbed it.

"Have you ever waitressed before?" he asked.

"Well, no. But I can catch on rather quickly and I have an excellent memory which would allow me to remember the customers' orders," Rachel said quickly with confidence.

The man turned and looked at her, scrutinizing her closely. He then reached under the counter and grabbed something, tossing it at Rachel. It was a t-shirt with the diner's name on it, Chang's.

"Waitresses can wear jeans or shorts, but they have to be wearing the shirt as a uniform," the man said.  
"Wait… I have the job?" Rachel asked, sounding shocked.

"Yup," the man said, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Mike Chang. I own the place."

"It's nice to meet you," Rachel said with a smile.

"You, too," Mike said. "Now, lunch shift is the craziest, so we'll need you here almost every day from noon to five. After five, it calms down a lot, so we can work on the paperwork after then."

"That sounds perfect," Rachel said.

"Awesome," Mike said, smiling. "You can call me Mike. I don't like all of that Mr. Chang stuff." Rachel laughed. "So, go change and then I'll get a waitress to show you around this place."

"Sounds perfect," Rachel said. She quickly walked to the bathroom and switched shirts, putting her other in the backpack she had brought with her. Mike threw the bag under the counter and called over a girl named Santana. He then handed Rachel a few pens, a notepad to take orders, and an apron that tied around her waist and had pockets for her to put everything in.

"Santana, this is Rachel. She'll be replacing Maria," Mike said. "Show her around, will ya?" The gorgeous Latina nodded and looked Rachel up and down.

"It'll be my pleasure," she said with a smile. Rachel frowned, suddenly feeling like she was being flirted with.

"Follow me," Santana said. Rachel followed behind obediently, paying close attention to everything Santana was doing.

An hour later, Rachel had a hang of waitressing. She was good at talking with the customers and making them feel comfortable. She also was able to remember who ordered what, which saved her a lot of time. Mike smiled at her when she grabbed three milkshakes and took them to a table. She was glad that she wasn't making a fool out of herself. Most of the customers of the place were dressed similar to Finn – they wore jeans and plaid shirts with work boots and some even had cowboy hats on. This place was certainly different from Denver, but she liked it.

Rachel also learned during her shift that Santana was dating another waitress there, Brittany, confirming to her that Santana was checking her out earlier. Around five, things started to slow down, just like Mike said they would. He called Brittany over to cover things behind the counter while he led Rachel back to his office.

"Take a seat," he said, motioning to a chair in front of the desk. He sat down across from her and grabbed some papers together. "I can say that I'm certainly impressed, Rachel."

"Thank you," she said. "I wasn't expecting to catch on quite so quickly, but I'm glad I did." Mike smiled.

"Now, I need to ask you something, but I don't want you to get offended," he said. Rachel's stomach clenched nervously, but she nodded. "Is it true that you're on probation?" he asked. "The whole town's talking and I just needed to know."

Rachel nodded woodenly. "It's true," she said. "But I can assure you that the reason I'm on probation will not interfere in any way with my ability to do this job."

"That's good to hear," Mike said. "You don't have to tell me what you did though. I can tell that you're a trustworthy person, Rachel." She smiled at him. "So, how's Finn doing?"

"He's just fine," Rachel said, a little confused. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah. I was a few years ahead of him in school. I took this place over when my parents decided to retire," he said.

"That seems to be what a lot of people do," Rachel surmised. "Take over their parents' businesses, I mean."

"Well, yeah," Mike replied. "It's a small town, you know. Everyone complains that they want to leave this place, but no one ever does. Don't get me wrong, I love it here," he said quickly.

"No, I understand," Rachel said quickly. "I'm starting to love it here as well."

When all was said and done, Rachel officially had a job. She had to be in everyday by noon and had to stay until five or until the diner started slowing down. That was really only a part-time job, but she got to keep her tips which added to twenty three dollars on just her first day.

Mike gave her two more red shirts to work in before sending her on her way. Rachel stopped at a pay phone and called Carole and Finn's house with some of the change she had from her tips.

"So did you find a job?" Carole asked.

"Actually, yes I did," Rachel said excitedly. "It's waitressing at Chang's, the first place I went to."

"That's great, sweetie," Carole said. "I'll tell Finn you're ready to be picked up and we'll talk about it during dinner."

"Can you have him meet me outside of the dollar store?" she asked, spotting one just across the street from her new place of employment. "I need to grab a few things."

"I will, honey," Carole said sweetly. "See you in a bit."

"Okay, bye," Rachel said before hanging up the phone.

She crossed the street, which was nowhere near as busy as the streets in Denver, and entered the dollar store. She grabbed more shampoo, conditioner and other things like that before finding a couple pairs of shorts that were on sale.

By the time she was finished, Finn was already parked outside. He smiled as soon as she entered the car.

"I heard you got a job," he said.

"You heard correctly," Rachel said excitedly.

"That's awesome," Finn chuckled. "I knew Mike in high school. He's a cool dude."

"He's quite nice," Rachel agreed. "And the girls I work with are nice, too."

"Does Santana still work there?" he asked.

"Yes. And Mercedes and Brittany were working today, too," she said. "I forget the name of the guy that was working the grill, but he seemed pretty nice, too."

"I'm pretty sure that's Matt. Last I heard he was working there," Finn said.

"Do you know all of them?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn chuckled. "We went to high school together."

"This really is a small town," Rachel laughed before Finn joined in.

Rachel, Finn, and Carole ate dinner together as they usually did. Carole was happy that Rachel had found a job and that it didn't involve working too late into the night.

"You can use my car if you need it, sweetie," Carole said. "I only use it once a week to go to the grocery store."

Rachel swallowed thickly. "I forgot to tell you, but I don't have a valid license anymore," she said quietly, feeling ashamed.

"Is that part of probation?" Carole asked, her tone of voice not changing from its normal sweet tone. Rachel nodded. "Well that's alright," she said soothingly.

"Yeah, I'll just take you," Finn said. "It's only five minutes from here."

"I don't want to be a burden or anything," Rachel said in a small voice.

"Don't worry about it," Finn said nonchalantly. "I owe you anyway. Thanks to you, I get done with chores _hours_ before I usually do." Rachel laughed.

"Even when Will worked here?" Carole asked with a smile. Rachel remembered that he worked here and lived in the trailer before she came along.

"Believe it or not, yeah," Finn chuckled. "She's small and quick," he said to his mom, making the two women laugh.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Two days later, it was the Fourth of July. Rachel and Finn had just started on the chores for the day, so it was still dark outside.

"Puck's having a party tonight," Finn said randomly. "They're grillin' out and setting off fireworks."

"That sounds fun," Rachel said. "Do you need me to find another ride home from work? Santana told me that if I ever needed one, she'd-"

Finn laughed. "No," he interrupted. "I said that because I want you to come with me."

"Oh," Rachel said in a quiet voice. It was quiet for a few minutes as they searched for chicken eggs in the coop. Finn had to bend over in the coop since he was so tall, which Rachel found funny.

"So do you want to come?" he asked as they were exiting the coop.

"I don't know," Rachel said uneasily. "I won't know anyone there."

"You'll know me," he said with a smirk. "And you can meet new people there. It could help get rid of some of the rumors going on about you."

Rachel abruptly stopped walking. "What rumors?" she asked in a low, serious voice.

Finn shook his head. "They're stupid," he said, trying to laugh and ease the tension. She glared at him and crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

"There's one about you sleeping with a teacher and getting him fired," Finn chuckled.

"That's ridiculous," Rachel snapped.

"I know," Finn agreed, finding it more humorous than Rachel did.

"What else?" she demanded.

"The normal stuff," he said shrugging. "Drugs, prostitution, stealing from a liquor store…" Rachel uncrossed her arms and brought a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed.

"Can you _please_ explain to me why people spread rumors?" she asked. "They're making me sound like a terrible person."

"They just do that so they don't look as bad," Finn said. "Me, you and mom all know what kind of person you are, Rach. If I were you, I wouldn't get mad over it."

She lowered her hand and opened her eyes. "Easier said than done," she grumbled.

"Well, that's why you should come with me," Finn said. "That way everyone can see how awesome you are and stuff…"

"But last time I saw Puck, he was an ass," Rachel said, remembering his insult _very_ clearly.

"I already talked to him and he said he'll shut up about it," Finn said. "He kinda wants you to come."

"Why?" Rachel asked, sounding confused.

"I don't really know," Finn admitted. "It's not like he can go out with you anyway. He has a girlfriend…"

"Really?" Rachel asked. Finn nodded. "Then why did he call me hot? You don't do something like that if you're dating someone else."

"Well, that's how Puck is," Finn chuckled. "And I don't think Quinn minds that much. He's been that way since high school." Finn started walking toward the stables and Rachel followed him.

"Wait, didn't your mom mention Quinn once or twice?" Rachel asked. "I thought she said something about the two of you being homecoming queen and king one year."

"We were," Finn said. "We dated almost half of sophomore year. I broke up with her when I found out about her cheating on me with Puck."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "You're too nice of a person to deserve something like that." She looked up in time to see Finn blush a little.

"Thanks," he murmured. "But I'm over it, you know? It was years ago and it's not like I loved her or anything. I forgave Puck the next year after he told me that he loved her the entire time."

"Right," Rachel murmured.

"Do you have any shitty breakup stories?" Finn asked. He peeked over at Rachel and saw her shrug.

"There was only one boy, really," she said. "I wasn't too popular in high school. Everyone thought I was stuck up because I wanted to move to New York and be famous."

"That's stupid," Finn said. "I like the way you dream so big. I wish I could do that." Rachel looked down and blushed.

"Well, that's what they thought," she murmured. "Anyway, this boy, Jesse, was a lot like me. He wanted to be a performer like I did and was actually quite talented. But it turned out that he really only wanted one thing…"

"Oh," Finn murmured, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He wasn't one of those guys, but he knew some dudes that used girls only for sex.

"Yeah," Rachel replied. "When I told him no, he didn't like that and broke up with me. That wasn't before insulting me, of course."

"What did he say?" Finn asked quickly.

"Just some things about how I wasn't really that talented and that I'd never make it," she said nonchalantly. "He even recommended breast implants and a boob job."

"Asshole," Finn muttered, making Rachel laugh.

"I couldn't agree more," Rachel said.

"I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with you," Finn said. "I like the way you look." Rachel looked up at him and their eyes met. She smiled widely.

"Thank you, Finn," she said. "That's very sweet of you to say."

"You're welcome," he said, returning her smile.

They boxed the eggs together, getting them ready to be picked up later that morning.

"So, do you wanna go with me?" he asked. "The fireworks are actually pretty awesome. And if anyone says anything dumb, I'll kick their ass." Rachel laughed before looking over at Finn.

"I'd love to go," she said with a smile, making him smile in return.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

"So is this like a date?" Santana asked with a mischievous smile.

"I don't think so," Rachel said, rolling her eyes. "We're just friends. Nothing more."

"But you wanna be more," Santana replied.

"No I don't!" Rachel insisted.

"That's bullshit," Santana laughed. "All you ever talk about is how attractive he is and sweet and how his shit smells like roses."

Rachel scrunched her nose up in disgust. "I certainly never said that last one," she replied.

"Well, close enough to it," Santana shot back with a smirk. They were currently looking around one of Springfield's nicest stores for something that Rachel could wear to the party tonight. Chang's wasn't very busy since most people were grilling out for the holiday, so they got off work earlier than expected.

Rachel was excited to find out that Santana and Brittany would be attending the party as well, already considering the girls her friends. They had only worked together for a couple of days, but they knew about why Rachel was in town and didn't judge her for it. Santana was even impressed that someone like her would even get into trouble.

"What about this?" Santana said, holding up a red summer dress. "It'll look hot with your tan." Rachel smiled at it, liking how simple and yet beautiful it was. It was a halter dress with a flowing skirt that was a bit shorter than she'd usually wear.

"I like it," Rachel said with a smile. "What shoes would I wear with it?"

Santana looked around and spotted some simple black flip flops, pulling Rachel over toward them.

"I'm not sure if they have size negative three for those midget feet of yours though," Santana laughed. Rachel smiled and nudged her playfully before digging through the shoes and finding a size five.

"What are you doing with your hair?" Santana asked.

"I was just going to wear it down," Rachel said.

"You should curl your ends loosely," Santana said. "That would look hot since your hair's so long."

"I don't have a curling iron," Rachel said. Santana wordlessly grabbed her arm and led her to the beauty section of the store. She found a curling iron and handed it to Rachel. "I don't think I have enough for this," Rachel admitted.

"Well, I'll buy it for you," Santana said, grabbing the curling iron back out of Rachel's hands.

"I appreciate that, but I can't accept it," Rachel said quickly, shaking her head.

"Okay, look," Santana said. "We've only known each other for a couple of days and besides Frankenteen and that horse you always talk about, I'm the closest thing you have to a friend. And no friend of mine is going to walk around looking _okay. _My friends look hot. And if you're going to look hot, you need to curl your hair._ Comprende_?"

Rachel didn't think she could tell Santana no and live to tell the tale, so she nodded.

"Thank you, Santana," she added.

"Now don't go getting all mushy on me," Santana said, waving her hand in the air. "But you're welcome." Rachel smiled, holding in a laugh. "Now let's find me something sexy to wear," Santana said, walking down the aisle. Rachel rolled her eyes and followed her new friend back over to the clothing section.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn picked her up at five, like he did every other day when he was working.

"What's in the bag?" he asked as he drove back toward the house.

"An outfit for tonight," Rachel replied. _Plus a curling iron_, she added mentally. "Santana and I got off work early and went shopping. She's going tonight, too. Oh, and Brittany's coming."

"That's cool," Finn said with a smile. "See? You'll know more than just me and Puck there."

"Yeah," Rachel said with a smile. "It should be fun."

Finn and Rachel skipped out on dinner since they'd be eating at Puck's house. Before getting dressed for the party, Rachel stopped in and said hello to Barbra, who made that vibrating noise as soon as she saw Rachel.

"Hi, baby girl," Rachel crooned. She reached out and stroked the side of Barbra's face before kissing her. "Now, I'm going to a party tonight, so I won't see you again until tomorrow. Make sure you get a good night's sleep and we'll go for a ride before I head in to work."

Rachel logically knew that Barbra probably didn't understand what she was saying, but not talking to her would feel even sillier.

"I love you," Rachel said, still stroking her gently. She then let go and stepped away from Barbra, smiling at her before walking back out of the stables.

Santana had talked Rachel into buying some color tinted chapstick and a little makeup, so it took Rachel a few extra minutes to get ready. Her hair was curled exactly the way Santana told her to fix it, with her bangs pushed off to the side. Her dress fit perfectly, almost like it was made for her to wear it. The dress ended a few inches above her knees, which she knew would help to keep her cool on this warm summer night.

A knock on her door startled her.

"Rach? You ready?" Finn called. For some reason, his voice caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach. She shook her head, reminding herself that this wasn't a date and that she and Finn were just friends.

"I'll be right there," she replied. She ran her fingers through her hair and put her chapstick in a little wristlet wallet that Santana let her borrow. She smiled at herself, thinking about how proud Santana would be. She made sure the curling iron was off before walking over to the door of the trailer.

Finn stepped back as the door opened, not wanting to get hit in the face. His eyes then widened when he saw Rachel. She looked prettier than he'd ever seen her look. Well, she was always pretty, but this was just… wow. Her hair was down and curled and he could tell that she had just a bit of makeup on. Her lips were light pink and looked totally kissable. Her dress fit her snugly, reminding him of what she looked like in just her bra and underwear. He looked down and saw those perfect legs that he was slowly becoming obsessed with.

"Wow, Rach… You look amazing," he said, looking back up to her face in time to see her blush and smile.

"Thank you, Finn," she replied. "You look great as well." He looked down at his khaki shorts, plaid shirt and gym shoes, not thinking his outfit was that great.

"I look like I usually do," he said with a shrug. "You're the one that looks… you know…"

"Well, I just so happen to think that you look great all of the time," she said with a smile. Finn blushed and she started walking ahead of him. "Let's go," she called behind her. "I can't wait to see Santana."

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

The party was more packed than Finn expected it to be. Granted, he still recognized mostly everyone there, but it was still pretty busy and loud. He led Rachel around, occasionally running into people that wanted to talk to him. He introduced her and she was nothing but polite to everyone she met. The people that talked to her were nice and welcoming.

There were still others there that stared at Rachel and whispered to one another as they walked by. Finn noticed them talking about Rachel, so he knew that Rachel noticed, too. But she just continued walking around with a smile on her face, not letting them get to her. He couldn't help but think that she was inspiring and all that.

"Damn, Berry!" they heard someone call. Rachel and Finn turned and saw Santana and Brittany walking toward them. "You look hot, mama!" Santana said.

"No, the two of you look gorgeous," Rachel gushed. Santana was wearing the stunning white dress that she and Rachel picked earlier that flowed as she walked. Brittany was wearing a yellow one that was longer but still accentuated her body amazingly.

"We all look awesome," Brittany said with a smile.

"You're right," Rachel agreed with a giggle.

"I'll, uh- I'll leave you girls alone to talk," Finn said awkwardly. "If you need anything, I'll be by the food, Rach."

"Okay," Rachel said with a smile. "Thank you, Finn." He returned her smile and walked off in the direction of the food table.

"Hudson totally wants to screw you," Santana laughed. Rachel whipped around quickly.

"No he doesn't!" Rachel protested.

"Berry, he was practically drooling," Santana replied. "Trust me. That boy wants you."

"Wants her to do what?" Brittany asked in an innocent voice.

"To ride him," Santana said with a wicked smirk. "His horse, I mean." Rachel's jaw dropped at the innuendo.

"I love horses!" Brittany gushed. "Rachel, did you know that they're cousins to unicorns?"

"I didn't know that, Brittany," Rachel replied, shifting from glaring at Santana to smiling at Brittany. "I'm sure Finn and Carole wouldn't mind if you stopped by and visited the horses. I'm sure my horse, Barbra, would love to meet you."

"That would be great," Brittany said with a smile. "I mean, they're not as great as unicorns, but they're still magical." Rachel smiled widely. Others might find Brittany stupid or something like that, but Rachel found her naïveté and innocence endearing. The way Santana was smiling at Brittany made Rachel think that she felt that way, too.

"Well, who do we have here?" a light and feminine voice said. Rachel turned and saw a beautiful blonde standing there with her arms folded across her chest. "You must be Rachel Berry," she said, almost making Rachel's name sound like an insult. Rachel ignored her rudeness and held her hand out.

"Yes, I'm Rachel," she said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same," the blonde said with a look of disdain. Rachel dropped her hand and had to work hard to keep the frown off of her face.

"There's no need to be a bitch, Quinn," Santana snapped. "Berry didn't do anything to you."

"You're right," Quinn said. "She didn't do anything besides trash this place up. Can't expect much else from a criminal."

"I don't mean any disrespect, but you don't know anything about me," Rachel replied, standing as tall as she could.

"I know plenty, you little thief," Quinn said. "I don't even know why Puck invited you here. I can't even really see what you look like with that nose taking up most of your face."

"Okay," Santana said, stepping in front of Rachel. "You need to back the hell up before I go all Springfield Heights on your ass." Rachel was suddenly nervous, knowing that Santana would and _could_ destroy Quinn if she wanted to. Santana had already shared stories with her about all of the fights she'd been in.

"The only thing you're doing is making yourself look as classless as man hands over there," Quinn replied, pointing over Santana's shoulder at Rachel.

"Listen here, you little bitch-" Santana stepped closer, getting into Quinn's face. Rachel rushed forward and stepped between them, not wanting to see a fight break out.

"How about we all just pretend like this never happened and go our separate ways?" Rachel suggested desperately.

Quinn stepped away from Rachel almost like she had a disease. "Did you know that Puck couldn't even set out the nice silverware tonight?" Quinn spat. "His mother was afraid you'd come along and steal it."

Tears immediately sprung up in Rachel's eyes and she suddenly wanted to be as far away from this party as possible. She didn't respond to Quinn, but turned to face Santana.

"Can you find Finn and tell him I'll be at his truck? He doesn't have to leave, but that's where I'll be," Rachel said.

Santana looked at her, pity filling her eyes. "You got it, munchkin," Santana replied with a small smile.

Rachel smiled at her as best as she could. "I'll see you at work," she said. "You, too, Brittany."

"I really hope your boss knows about your past, Rachel," Quinn said to Rachel's back. "If so, he'd keep a closer eye on the cash register when you're around."

A sob escaped Rachel's mouth and she covered it with her hand before turning away from Santana and walking away quickly. Her face then crumpled and she started to cry as he walked back out the way she entered earlier.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn looked up when he heard someone call his name. He was about to take another bite of his hamburger but put it back on the plate when he saw Santana and Brittany walking toward him.

"Where's Rachel?" he asked, not seeing her behind them.

"Out at your truck," Santana huffed.

"Why? What happened?" he asked quickly before putting his plate down on the table in front of him.

"Quinn happened," Santana replied in a flat voice.

"What did she do?" Finn asked.

"She said shit that I'm not even mean enough to say," Santana replied.

"She made Rachel cry," Brittany murmured sadly.  
"I was about to punch the bitch in the face," Santana grumbled.

"Shit," Finn murmured. "I'll go see how she's doing."

"If she wants me to kick Quinn's ass, tell her to just let me know and it's done," Santana said firmly. Finn chuckled.

"I'll let her know," he replied. Then, he rushed off toward the parking lot, really hoping that he wouldn't run into Quinn on the way there.

He walked in the direction of where he parked his truck and spotted Rachel sitting on the tailgate of his truck.

"Rach," he called softly, trying not to scare her. She looked up and spotted Finn walking toward her. She reached up and wiped her eyes quickly, not wanting him to see her cry.

"What are you doing out here?" Rachel asked.

"Santana told me what happened," he replied. He came to a stop in front of her and she looked up at him sadly.

"I'm guessing she didn't tell you that I said for you to not leave the party," Rachel surmised.

"Well, no… She didn't say that, but I wouldn't have stayed there with you out here all upset and stuff," he said.

Rachel smiled sadly at him. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Don't mention it," he said with a smirk. He then walked over and took a seat next to her on the tailgate of his truck. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Rachel shrugged. "I just… I don't know what I did wrong," she murmured. "I tried to introduce myself and everything, but she just looked at me like I was disgusting. And then she said that she couldn't even tell what I looked like with my nose taking up most of my face. She also said something about not being able to put out the nice silverware since they thought I'd steal it-" Rachel hiccupped, unable to continue.

"What else did she say?" Finn asked softly, knowing there was more.

"That she hopes my boss knows about my past so he can keep a closer eye on the cash register," she whispered. Finn watched as tears started falling down Rachel's face. He swallowed thickly before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She then fell into his embrace, crying into his chest.

"Rach, don't listen to her," Finn said softly. "She's always been a bitch… And she's wrong about you."

"No she's not," Rachel cried. "That's what everyone's thinking. She was just the only one brave enough to say it to my face."

"Stop that," Finn said firmly. "They don't know the real you. I do. And Santana and Brittany and my mom do, too. And we all like the person you are, Rach."

She didn't respond, but continued crying into his chest softly. He rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly.

"I don't know if this makes a different or anything, but… I trust you," he said softly. Rachel sat up quickly and smiled at him, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"That means everything, Finn," Rachel replied. "Thank you." Finn smirked at her before looking up at the sky.

"The fireworks will be starting soon," he mentioned. "You wanna head back in there? We'll stay away from Quinn." Rachel laughed quietly.

"You can go. I'll just watch them from here," she replied. Finn thought for a few moments.

"I'll just sit out here," he decided.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "You don't have to stay out here just because of me."

"You're better company anyway," Finn said with a shrug. Rachel laughed lightly.

When the fireworks started, Rachel's head was on Finn's shoulder. He smiled down at her before looking back up at the sky.

TBC

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I still own nothing. And please excuse any grammatical errors. I tried to catch them all!

Barbra: Chapter Four

"Happy birthday, Santana!" Rachel said with a smile as she walked into Chang's for work. She walked over to the birthday girl and quickly gave her a hug. It was already July 28th, which meant that Rachel had been Springfield for almost two months.

"How the hell did you remember, Berry?" Santana laughed. "Even my abuela forgot." Rachel let go of her and stepped back.

"I've told you time and time again that I have an impeccable memory," Rachel said with a smile.

"I believe you," Santana said, rolling her eyes. Rachel knew that she was just humoring her.

"I've gotta go clock in," Rachel said. "We'll talk when our shifts are over."

"You got it," Santana replied before walking over to a table to take an order.

Rachel's shift passed quickly, as it usually did. She even had some regulars that demanded that Rachel was their waitress. Of course, they were usually old men with farfetched stories about the past, but Rachel listened as long as she could every day.

At the end of her shift, Rachel grabbed her bag and went to the back to clock out when someone bumped into her. She turned and saw that it was Santana, which brought a smile to her face.

"You and Frankenteen are coming to my party tonight, right?" Santana asked.

"Right," Rachel replied.

"And he still hasn't tried to get in your pants?" she asked as usual. Santana checked every day to see if Finn and Rachel had gotten together yet. At first, it was funny, but not Rachel found it annoying and frustrating.

"Santana," Rachel moaned. "Finn doesn't like me that way. We're friends and that's all we'll ever be."

"It annoys the crap out of me to see you two swooning over one another," the Latina replied. "One of you needs to grow some balls and make the first move." Rachel took a deep breath and turned to face Santana.

"What would be the point of starting a relationship when I'll end up leaving?" Rachel asked firmly. "And you're right, Finn might like me, but he's not dumb enough to enter into a relationship with someone that has a criminal record. Then people would just start talking about him and it's not worth the trouble."

"Rachel, you made one damn mistake," Santana insisted. "That doesn't suddenly make you a bad person. You are worth the trouble." Rachel was quiet for a few moments.

"Getting close to him and then leaving would kill me, Santana," Rachel said quietly. Rachel knew it was overdramatic to say, but if she gave herself to Finn like that and then had to leave… That would hurt her more than anything had ever hurt her before. Santana scrutinized her expression closely.

"Do you _love_ him?" Santana asked, sounding shocked.

Rachel thought back to all the times that Finn showed that he cared about her. He told Puck not to insult her, comforted her when she was upset, told her that he trusted her… Finn was a genuinely good person and was one of the few people that didn't judge her because of the mistakes she made. She loved Santana like a sister, but Finn had become her best friend. Well, aside from Barbra, of course.

"I think I do," Rachel admitted quietly.

"Well, _hot damn_," Santana said with a laugh. "You have to tell him."

"Did you not just hear anything I said?" Rachel laughed humorlessly. "I'm leaving in a few months, Santana. I don't even know where I'm going after this, but I'll probably never be back."

"Rachel-"

"Please just don't say anything to him," Rachel begged. "If we're lucky, he doesn't feel the same way about me. I can handle it, but I don't want him to be hurt."

Santana nodded.

"Thank you," Rachel said firmly before pulling Santana in for another hug. "Finn's probably outside waiting for me. We'll be at your place at eight."

"I'll see you there," Santana said with a small smile. Rachel plastered a smile on her face and nodded before leaving the room.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Santana let Rachel borrow tons of her clothes, which is the reason why Rachel was wearing a tiny black skirt and a dark purple, flowing top. Rachel had even gone shopping with Santana and Brittany and bought a sensible pair of black pumps that made her three inches taller than usual. She was still so much shorter than everyone else, but it was less noticeable than when she wore flip flops.

Rachel wore her hair straight, but pushed her bangs out of the way, knowing Santana would approve of this look. She smiled at her reflection before grabbing her purse and walking out of her trailer. She had rode Barbra earlier that afternoon and already said goodbye to her, so she went into the house to see if Finn was almost ready.

"Rachel! You look so beautiful," Carole gushed as soon as Rachel walked into the living room.

"Thank you, Carole," she replied with a big smile. "I wish I could claim the credit, but this is Santana's outfit."

"That doesn't mean that you don't wear it well," Carole replied, making Rachel giggle.

They both turned when they heard a door close and footsteps walking down the hallway.

"Rachel!" he said abruptly, not expecting to see him waiting for her.

"You look very nice, Finn," Rachel said, smiling at his button up shirt and jeans combo.

Finn blushed and looked down. "Uh, thanks," he said. He looked back up at her, looking over her outfit. "You look great."

"Thank you," Rachel said.

"Well, since you're both adults, I trust that you'll both be careful and responsible," Carole said with a smile.

"Of course we will," Rachel insisted. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Right. What she said," Finn replied.

"I told Santana we'd be there at eight," Rachel said, peeking at the clock on the wall and realizing that it would be eight in ten minutes.

"We should get going then," Finn said with a smirk. He then walked toward the door and Rachel. She pushed it open and walked outside.

"Bye Carole!" Rachel shouted over her shoulder.

"Have fun!" she heard Carole shout back.

The ride to Santana's was short with Finn and Rachel engaging in small talk the entire way. Finn couldn't help but peek over at Rachel's legs during the ride, swallowing deeply every time she shifted just a little, her skirt riding up just a bit. Rachel was oblivious to Finn's stares. She looked out the window at the trees, houses and farms that they passed by. She couldn't stop thinking about Santana telling her that she should tell Finn about how she felt.

But what would be the use? She'd be leaving in a few months, probably heading back to Denver to try and start her life over again. And she couldn't just ask Finn to come with her, knowing very well that his mother needed him.

Rachel didn't want to leave, but she'd have to eventually.

Just thinking about leaving Finn, Carole, her friends, and Barbra made her want to cry. So, she took a deep breath, not wanting to ruin Santana's party by being upset.

They pulled up to Santana's house which already had cars taking up every available space.

"There's gonna be alcohol here, isn't there?" Finn asked.

"Come on, Finn," Rachel laughed. "It's _Santana_ we're talking about."

"So there's gonna be _tons_ of alcohol," Finn said with a smirk, making Rachel laugh.

"Oh, yeah," she replied. They had to park down the block and walk to the house. Finn walked by Rachel's side, leading her forward with a hand on her lower back. Rachel looked up and smiled at him. Seconds later, a smile broke out on his face.

"Now, I don't mean to sound like your mother, but no more than one drink, Finn," Rachel said.

"I know," he laughed. "I have to drive."

"Right," she said, looking back up at him. "And thanks for coming with me."

"No problem, Rach," Finn insisted. "You came with me to Puck's party, after all." Rachel looked away quickly, not wanting to remember how disastrously that night went. Well, except for watching the fireworks with Finn.

"Sorry," Finn mumbled. "Didn't mean to bring that up." Rachel took a deep breath and exhaled before smiling widely.

"Don't worry about it, Finn," Rachel said positively. "It was a while ago and we've moved on."

"You're right," he agreed with a chuckle. She really was adorable sometimes.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn stood in the corner of the room with a glare permanently etched onto his face. Rachel was across the room, talking to some guy that was _obviously_ flirting with her. Knowing Rachel, she probably just thought that he was being nice, but Finn knew what the dude was up to.

He took another swig of his drink, grimacing as the alcohol burned his throat. He wasn't quite sure how much he'd had yet, but he hoped that he'd stop feeling so shitty if he drank more. Finn was kind of pissed. Him and Rachel were supposed to be friends, you know? She should have been talking to him instead of some douche that she just met.

He had almost drained the cup when he realized why he was so pissed.

Finn was _jealous_.

He knew that he liked Rachel more than he probably should, but it wasn't really his fault that she was so pretty and funny and awesome. He also knew that she'd only be here for a few more months, but he didn't want her to leave. Like, ever.

He couldn't imagine sitting at the dinner table anymore without his mom _and_ Rachel laughing at his stupid jokes. He didn't want to do the chores in the morning without her. It wasn't just because she cut his work time in half, but because he actually enjoyed her company. And the way she acted with the horses made him love her even more…

Wow.

He loved her.

Suddenly, that whole jealousy thing made sense.

When he looked across the room and saw the guy whisper something in Rachel's ear, making her laugh, he poured himself some more alcohol.

Then, he thought about their predicament.

Sure, he loved Rachel and wanted her to stay, but he couldn't really ask her to. She told him that she wanted to be on Broadway more than anything. Hell, she even explained to him that she named her horse after Barbra Streisand. He might have only heard her hum and sing quietly to the horse, but he knew that she must have had an incredible voice.

Asking her to stay with him wouldn't be fair; he couldn't hold her back from her dreams.

When his eyes started growing heavy, Finn sat down on a couch, still clutching his drink. Moments later, he felt someone sit next to them. He opened his eyes and rolled his head to the side only to see a concerned Rachel sitting there.

"Finn? Are you alright?" she asked. He nodded.

"I'm just tired," he slurred. Rachel's eyes widened after hearing him speak.

"How much have you had to drink?" she asked.

Finn chuckled. "_Way_ more than one," he said with a smirk.

"_God_, Finn!" Rachel complained exasperatedly. "How the hell are we supposed to get home?"

"I can drive, Rach," he insisted.

She glared at him. "You are in no state to drive," she insisted. She then looked around and realized that everyone else there was wasted, too. "No one here is in a state to drive."

Finn yawned loudly. "I'm sleepy," he said. Rachel closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose like she did when she was angry.

"It's only ten minutes away," she reasoned, talking out loud to herself. "I _have_ to drive." She stood up and grabbed Finn's cup out of his hand, slamming it down angrily.

"I wasn't done with that," Finn protested with a pout.

"Oh yes you are, Finn Hudson!" she practically yelled. "Let's go!" she said. She reached down for his hand and helped to pull him to his feet. He stumbled a bit once he was standing.

"Rach-" Finn began.

"Don't start," she snapped, interrupting him. "I am _so_ angry at you right now." Finn looked down at her, frowning.

"Sorry," he mumbled. With that puppy dog look on his face, Rachel almost forgave him.

Almost.

She led him out to the truck, holding onto his arm tightly in case he lost his balance. She helped him climb into the passenger's side and grabbed the keys out of his pocket before buckling him in.

"You look _so_ pretty tonight, Rach," Finn said with bleary eyes. Rachel huffed and closed the door, too angry at him to respond. With a quick prayer, she buckled herself up before starting the car.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

They were almost back to the house when sirens sounded and red and blue lights started flashing. With her heart pounding, Rachel looked into the rearview mirror and saw that a police officer's car was right behind her.

"Oh my God, no," she whispered in a panic.

It was all over now. She didn't have a valid license and wasn't supposed to be driving. She was about to be arrested and sent back to Denver to sit in jail.

Unless she brought out her impeccable acting skills.

Rachel's heart was beating so fast that she was certain she was going to have a heart attack. She took a few deep breaths before pulling over to the side of the road. She glanced over at Finn, who was sleeping against the window.

She waited anxiously with her hands on the steering wheel as the cop exited his car and came walking over toward them.

"Is there something wrong, officer?" Rachel asked sweetly. The man was younger than she expected with blonde hair and a handsome face.

"Just a slight one, miss. The taillight's out," he said. "I'm gonna need to see your license and registration." Her pulse skyrocketed, but she made herself seem calm.

"Well, you see, I don't have my license on me, seeing as I wasn't expecting to drive tonight," Rachel said. "And I'm not really sure where the registration is. This isn't my car."

"Who's is it then?" the officer asked.

"His," Rachel said, pointing to Finn. The officer peeked inside the truck and saw Finn leaning against the window.

"Is that Hudson?" he asked.

"Yes," Rachel said.

"What happened to him?" the officer asked. _Time to improvise_, Rachel thought.

"We were at a friend's house and a bunch of boys started playing football. Finn took a pretty bad hit and was dizzy, so I thought it would be safer for me to drive him home," Rachel replied. She almost believed the lie herself.

"Trying to relive his high school glory days?" Sam chuckled.

"I guess so," Rachel replied with a giggle.

"Well, tell him Sam said to feel better and get some rest. And the next time I see you driving without a license, I'm gonna have to take you in," Sam said. "I'll let you get away with it just this once."  
"Thank you so much," Rachel said firmly. "I didn't want him driving."

"Well thank you for not letting him," Sam replied with a smile.

"Safety first," Rachel laughed, making Sam chuckle.

"Right," he agreed. "And don't forget to tell him to put in a new taillight."

"I'll be sure to tell him," Rachel said with a smile. _And kick his ass for being so irresponsible_, she added.

"Have a good night," he said, before tapping the top of the roof and nodding.

"Thank you," Rachel said. She waited for Sam to pull away first before finishing the ride to the house. She wasn't as scared now, but she was _pissed_.

How _dare_ Finn put her into a position where she could have been arrested and sent to jail? He obviously didn't care about her as much as she thought he did.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel woke up the next morning around the same time as usual. She got dressed and walked into the house to see Carole in the middle of making pancakes.

"Do you know why Finn's still asleep?" Carole asked. "I couldn't get him up for anything."

"Oh, he ate some Mexican food at Santana's last night and it made him pretty sick," Rachel said. She hated lying to Carole, but she didn't have a choice. "He threw up when we got back." Rachel remembered Finn puking into a garbage can that she had enough sense to put by his bed, but it wasn't from eating bad Mexican. It was from him being an idiot.

"Sounds like food poisoning," Carole said. "I'll let him sleep in today. Can you handle the chores by yourself, sweetie?"

Rachel smiled tightly. "I think I can manage." After breakfast, she went out to do the chores by herself, just as angry at Finn as she had been the night before.

It took her a while to find all the chicken eggs and box them. It took her even longer to brush each horse and let them out to graze. She didn't realize how much work Finn used to have to do on his own.

But she was still pissed at him.

It was almost like Barbra could sense her bad mood. She made those vibrating noises and nudged Rachel with her nose.

"I'm not mad at you, sweetie," Rachel said with a smile as she brushed through Barbra's mane. "Finn's a big butthole though."

By the time she had gotten around to cleaning out the stalls, the sun was already in the middle of the sky. Rachel skipped lunch, not wanting to be in such close proximity to Finn. She didn't want to be responsible for injuring him in a moment of anger. Well, she couldn't do _much_ damage since she was so tiny, but she'd try.

She had just finished giving each horse some water when Finn came walking into the stable. She looked up and saw that he looked _terrible_. She couldn't bring herself to care.

"Rach, listen-" he started.

"_Don't_ talk to me, Finn," Rachel snapped. She wound up the hose as he stood there awkwardly.

"Rachel, can you please listen to me?" he begged. She felt the tears gather in the corners of her eyes and turned around to glare at him.

"I said don't talk to me," she said, her voice low and dangerous. She felt a tear fall and wiped it away quickly before turning back around.

"I'm sorry," Finn murmured. Rachel whipped around and glared at him, the look on her face making him take a step back.

"Oh, you're _sorry_?" she said loudly. "Sorry doesn't make this any better, Finn. And you probably don't even remember all of what happened last night, so you can take your _sorry _and shove it up your ass." Finn's jaw dropped. His mind scrambled, trying to think of what she could be _so_ pissed at. The last thing he remembered was some guy whispering in her ear at that party.

"Did I, like, say something stupid or something like that?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Rachel laughed humorlessly.  
"No, Finn," she replied, the glare not leaving her face. "You _did_ something stupid."

"Look, I really am sorry for getting tanked last night…"

"No, Finn, you didn't just get tanked, you almost ruined _everything_!" Rachel shouted.

"How?" Finn asked, racking his brain for the answer. Rachel took a deep breath.

"Because of you, _I_ had to drive us home last night!" she shouted. "And while driving home, I was pulled over!" Finn's stomach dropped and he suddenly felt like getting sick. "Do you remember how I told you that my license was suspended, Finn? If that cop hadn't happened to be a friend of yours, I would have been arrested and sent to jail for a _very _long time!"

"And on top of all that, I had to lie to your mother and tell her you had food poisoning!" Rachel shouted. "Do you have _any_ idea how terrible I feel about that?"

Finn felt like crying. He screwed up worse than he ever could have.

"I'll still work with you, but I don't want you to try and apologize to me or even _speak _to me. I'll act like everything's fine around Carole but that's it," Rachel said firmly. She turned on her heel and stomped away. She was almost to the front when she turned back around. "And do you want to know what hurts the _most_, Finn?" she asked. She didn't wait for him to reply. "I thought that you actually cared about me. But if you did, you wouldn't have put me in jeopardy like that." She turned back around and he watched her walk toward where the horses were grazing.

As soon as she was out of eyesight, he sat on a bale of hay and dropped his head into his hands.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

It took a week for Rachel to even speak to him again while they were working. Granted, she asked him to hand her the garden hose, but it was something. Finn hated himself for screwing things up with Rachel so badly. The night of the party, he finally figured out that he loved her, and now, he didn't have a chance in hell with her.

When nine days had passed, he couldn't take it anymore. He cornered Rachel while she was cleaning out one of the stalls.

"Get out of my way, Finn," she grumbled.

"Rach, I need you to listen to me," he begged.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say," she replied.

"You don't have to be interested, but please just listen," Finn asked, frowning at her. She glared at him and took a deep breath.

"Fine," she huffed.

"Okay, look," he began. "I _know_ I was an idiot and that I fucked up royally. But when we were at that party, I saw you talking to some guy and… I don't know… It just _pissed _me off. And that's when I started drinking."

"So you're trying to blame this on me?" she asked incredulously.

"No," Finn said quickly. "I'm just trying to help you understand that I didn't mean to hurt you. I wasn't thinking clearly and I didn't mean to do it. I would _never_ hurt you like that on purpose."

"But you did," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know," Finn replied. "And it's _killing _me that you hate me now." Rachel peeked up at him before looking away.

"I don't _hate _you," she said quietly. Finn smiled just a little.

"That's great, but… Basically, you're my best friend, Rach," he explained. "Well, yeah, I have Travis, but he doesn't talk back to me and stuff like you do and he can't really understand my jokes." Rachel had to work really hard to keep the smile off of her face. "I just… I miss my best friend, you know?" he added in a quiet voice.

Rachel looked up at him and could see that he really was sorry. And she missed him, too.

"Do you think you can forgive me?" he asked in a quiet voice, looking at her with so much hope that she felt like crying. She thought for a few moments.

"Finn, I'll forgive you this time, but if you _ever_ hurt me again, I'll make Barbra trample you. And don't think I won't," she said firmly. Finn smiled widely and chuckled before walking across the stall and pulling Rachel into a tight hug.

She closed her eyes tightly and hugged him back, tears welling up in her eyes.

She had her best friend back.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn was really surprised when he saw his brother Kurt sitting in the house a week later. He had just gotten done finishing chores with Rachel when he walked into the house and saw Kurt sitting there with a smile.

"Hey!" Finn said, returning the smile. "What are you doing here?"

"What, a guy can't come and visit his family?" Kurt asked with a smile. He stood up and Finn hugged him tightly.

"Did mom know you were coming?" Finn asked after letting go.

"No," Kurt replied. "It was a surprise. She's in the bathroom fixing her makeup the tears washed away." Finn laughed heartily. "So, where's this little Broadway diva I've heard so much about?"

Apparently, Finn's mom had told Kurt _everything _about Rachel. Finn brought Rachel into the house to meet Kurt and an hour later, they were talking like they had been best friends their entire lives.

Kurt showed her around his room and he could hear them chatting from the living room.

Then, he heard something that made his heart pound and cold chills run through his body.

Kurt got Rachel to sing.

_Oh, my man I love him so_

_He'll never know_

_All my life is just despair_

_But I don't care_

_When he takes me in his arms _

_The world is bright, alright_

_What's the difference if I say _

_I'll go away _

_When I know I'll come back on _

_My knees someday _

_For whatever my man is_

_I am his _

_Forevermore _

_Oh, my man I love him so_

_He'll never know_

_All my life is just despair_

_But I don't care_

_When he takes me in his arms _

_The world is bright, alright_

_What's the difference if I say _

_I'll go away _

_When I know I'll come back on _

_My knees someday _

_For whatever my man is_

_I am his _

_Forevermore _

When she stopped singing, Finn looked over to his mom, who was wearing the same look of shock and surprise on her face. They could hear Kurt squealing and Rachel laughing from the living room, which made Finn smile widely.

He knew she could sing, but _damn_!

At dinner later that night, all they could talk about was Rachel's voice. She seemed to be enjoying the attention, but was also blushing at some of their comments.

"I've known you for how many months and you wouldn't sing for me, but you sang for Kurt after knowing him for an hour," Finn said incredulously. Rachel laughed.

"Well, I didn't think you'd be as appreciative of my talent," Rachel admitted. "Kurt's a fan of Broadway, which is what most of my repertoire consists of, so I figured he'd be a fair judge of my abilities." Finn shook his head with a smile on his face.

"I don't have to know anything about Broadway to know that you have the best voice I've ever heard," Finn replied. He looked down to take another bite of his casserole, so he missed seeing Rachel blush darker than she ever had before.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel left the house to go and check on the horses once more. She offered to escort Kurt, but his face paled and he insisted that he was tired. Rachel and Finn both looked at each other and laughed, knowing the real reason behind his apprehension to see the horses.

When she left the house, Finn went into the kitchen to put the dishes away like he did after most dinners. His mom was facing the microwave, holding something in her hand. She had a frown on her face, which worried Finn.

"Something wrong, mom?" he asked. She turned and he noticed that she was holding money in her hand.  
"Do you know how we could possibly be missing four hundred dollars from the bill money?" she asked, sounding bothered. Finn shook his head.

"We just sold all that pig and some eggs today," he replied. "We should have extra money this month."

"Finn, I counted this after Jerry left with the pig," she insisted, looking worried. "We're four hundred short."

Finn froze in place. His mind automatically jumped to one person. The only person in the house with a criminal record.

Rachel.

TBC

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

A/N: It's gonna get crazy! The next chapter will be up soon! Thank for reading and _please _leave a review! Oh, and I don't own the song "My Man," but you already knew that ;)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I still don't own anything.

Barbra: Chapter Five

Finn rushed to Rachel's trailer, trying to stop his hands from shaking. How could she have done this to them? They welcomed her into their home and gave her a nice place to stay. Hell, she practically had her own horse! And then she steals from them?

He pounded on the door and stepped back, still fuming. Rachel opened the door slowly and looked confused.

"Finn? What are you doing out here so late?" she asked. Finn pushed his way into her trailer and started pacing back and forth. She closed the door and rushed to his side. "What's going on?" she asked, frowning at him.

"You know exactly what the fuck's going on!" he shouted, making Rachel take a few steps back from him.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel yelled, the tears forming in the corners of her eyes from Finn yelling at her so rudely.

"What did you do with the money?" he demanded. "I know you have it."

"What money?" she cried. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Bullshit! You stole four hundred dollars from my mom!" he shouted. Rachel gasped and put a hand over her mouth, the tears falling down her cheeks. "Where is it?" he asked. Rachel dropped her hand.

"Finn, I would _never_ do that to your family," she insisted.

"I can't believe you're just gonna stand here and lie to my face like that," he said, frustration lacing his tone.

"Finn, I _swear_ that I didn't do it," Rachel cried.

"Is that the same thing that you told the judge when you were arrested? That you didn't do it?" Finn growled. Rachel abruptly stopped crying and glared at him.

"You don't know anything about what happened!" she shouted.

"I know that you like to steal in your spare time!" he yelled back. "And now you did it to us!" Rachel screamed in frustration, the tears still falling from her eyes.

"Do you _really_ want to know what happened, Finn?" she shouted. Then, her voice dropped dramatically. "My daddy left me and my dad. Then my dad started drinking and got into drugs. I'd have to pick him up in all of these terrible neighborhoods in the middle of the night. One night, I picked him up and we got pulled over. They found drugs on my dad and it turned out that our car was stolen."

She wiped her eyes, but continued with the story. "I got arrested for driving a stolen vehicle. They didn't believe me when I said I didn't know anything about it, but I really didn't!" she insisted. "That's how my license got taken away. I didn't do anything, but they didn't believe me." All of Finn's anger suddenly evaporated.

"Rachel-"

"You know what, Finn? I don't want to hear it!" Rachel suddenly yelled. She then looked down at the ground. "This is the _one_ _place_ I never thought I'd be judged or ridiculed. But as soon as something happens, you point the finger at the girl with a criminal record." She sobbed once and looked back up at him with a glare. "You said you trusted me… I guess that was just a lie."

"I didn't know-"

"You know what, Finn?" Rachel interrupted, looking more upset than he'd ever seen her. "I trusted you, too."

"Please just-"

"Get out!" she shouted. Finn opened his mouth to speak, but she just reached out and shoved his chest, pushing him toward the door. "Get the _fuck_ out of here!"

Finn shot her one last pleading look before doing as she asked. With a heavy heart, he left her trailer, closing the door behind him.

He heard her sobbing as he walked away.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel cried for almost an entire hour. It was late when Rachel changed out of the pajamas she had been wearing and put on a clean pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and her sneakers. She grabbed her wallet for cab fare, checking to make sure she had her ID inside.

She wrote a note. Then, with one last look at the place she had called home for the past couple of months, Rachel left the trailer. She stopped at the house and slipped the note under the door before walking to the stables.

She had to say goodbye to Barbra.

It was quiet in the stables while the horses rested. She walked quietly to the second last stall and peeked inside. Barbra was turned away from her, facing the wall. Rachel clicked her tongue lightly and the mare turned around, making the vibrating noise she always made when she saw Rachel.

Barbra lifted her head over the door of the stable and stepped as close as she could to Rachel.

"Hey there, baby girl," Rachel crooned. She petted Barbra's mane and face gently, tears falling down her cheeks again. "I'm so sorry, but… I'm gonna be gone for a while." A sob broke free and Rachel used a hand to cover her mouth, stifling the sobs. "I don't know when I'll be back, sweetie… Or _if_ I'll be back." Rachel had a feeling and Barbra understood what she was saying.

"I just can't be somewhere where I'm not trusted," she whispered. "But I want you to be a good girl. Eat all of your food and get plenty of exercise. And if you feel like kicking Finn in the shin, go for it," she added with a watery smile.

"Just know that I love you," she murmured before kissing the area under Barbra's eye. "You're the only one I can count on the most. And I hope I can see you again…"

With one last smile and one last stroke, Rachel stepped away from Barbra. She turned away and started jogging out of the stables. If she didn't leave now, she'd never be able to leave.

Rachel heard Barbra make a whining sound and her sobs became louder. Rachel ran out of the stables and up the driveway. She didn't stop running until she hit the main road.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn woke up after the shittiest night of sleep he'd ever had. He got dressed quickly, wanting to go and apologize to Rachel as soon as possible. He would have done it last night, but he thought she'd want some time to cool down and everything. Of course, it was _his_ fault she was so upset, but everything would be fine once he apologized…

He walked out into the living room and saw his mom and Kurt sitting on the couch. Kurt had his head on his mom's shoulder.

"What's going on?" Finn asked. His mom sat up and turned to look at him. He started to freak out a bit when he saw her crying. "Mom, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Rachel's gone," she murmured, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Finn's heart started pounding.

"What?" he asked quickly. Carole grabbed a piece of paper off of the table in front of her and handed it to Finn. He unfolded it with shaky hands.

_Carole, _

_I'm so sorry to do this, but I don't really have a choice. I can't stay here if the people I live with can't trust that I won't hurt them. The last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you in any way. By the time you read this, I'll be back in Denver. I'm going to see Janice to tell her that things just didn't work out here. This means that I'll probably end up in jail, but it's something I'll just have to deal with. _

_I don't know when I'll see you again, but if you and Kurt want to come visit me, I'd love to see you. You can call Janice and she'll tell you where I ended up. Please take care of yourself and tell Kurt that I enjoyed meeting him. I hope to see you again someday. Please keep my stuff there and I'll send for it once I know what's going on. _

_And please, please take care of Barbra. I already said goodbye to her and I'm going to miss her terribly. Also, please explain to my boss and friends what happened. I appreciate everything they've done for me and I'll miss them so much. _

_I'll miss you the most though. You're like the mother I never had and I can't tell you how thankful I am for everything you've done for me. Again, I'm sorry for leaving, but I hope you understand. _

_Thank you and I love you, _

_Rachel*_

Finn was crying silently by the time he got to the end of the letter. What hurt more than her leaving was the fact that she didn't mention him at all; she didn't say that she'd miss him or anything. He walked over to an armchair and fell into it, the letter still in his hand.

"Why do I have the feeling that you had something to do with this?" Carole asked, sounding more hurt and curious than angry.

"I thought she took the money," he mumbled.

"So you went and accused her?" Carole asked, her voice still sweeter than Finn deserved.

"Yeah," he muttered.

"Oh God," Kurt moaned. Finn looked up and saw Kurt's face contorted. "This is my fault."

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked, feeling confused. Kurt turned to his mom.

"Mom, I'm sorry… I took the money," he admitted quietly. He then looked at the ground, waiting for the yelling to start. Finn jumped up quickly.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he shouted.

"Finn-" Carole chastised.

"No, mom," Finn said, turning back to Kurt. "He _stole_ from us and made me think it was Rachel."

"_You_ were the one that accused Rachel! No one told you to!" Kurt shouted back.

"Who the hell else could it have been?" Finn yelled. "I didn't think that you'd do something like that!"

"Your mom didn't go out there and accuse Rachel!" Finn felt like he'd been slapped across the face. Kurt was right; this whole thing was his fault. Finn stormed out of the house without saying anything. He went straight to Rachel's trailer and pulled the door open.

He could still see her stuff lying around like she hadn't left. It was like she was about to walk back through the door and grab her work gloves that she forgot to grab most mornings. Finn walked over to Rachel's bed and sat on the edge. He spotted the picture that Carole had taken of him, Rachel, and Barbra sitting on the bedside table. Rachel was on one side of the horse and Finn was on the other, the both of them smiling widely.

Finn laid back on the bed and cried.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn did his chores with a stony expression on his face. He was mad at Kurt for stealing from their mom. He was mad at Rachel for leaving. But mostly, he was mad at himself for pushing away the one person that he was closest to. He had the urge to drive to Denver and stop her from doing this, but he had the feeling that he'd be too late.

He almost cried again while brushing Barbra. He could tell the horse was antsy and upset from not seeing Rachel. He could only imagine how much it hurt Rachel to have to leave Barbra behind. He'd never seen someone as connected to a horse as Rachel was to Barbra. And Barbra seemed just as connected to Rachel.

He went into the house when the chores were done, fully intending on giving Kurt the silent treatment. But Finn wasn't expecting to see Carole sitting on the couch, crying.

"What's wrong?" Finn asked, not really able to handle any more bad news today.

"I called Janice," Carole said, dabbing the area under her eyes with a tissue. "Rachel was sentenced to three months at a minimum security detention center in Denver… On the bright side, they counted the months she spent here as time served." Finn sat next to his mom and let out a deep breath. He couldn't imagine spending a single night in jail, let alone _months_.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Finn murmured.

"I know that, sweetie, but I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," she said with a sad smile.

"I'll be lucky if she ever even talks to me again," he grumbled.

"As much as it hurts, I can understand why she left," Carole replied.

"Well then can you explain to me why she'd rather sit in jail instead of staying here?" Finn asked. Carole reached out and touched Finn's cheek gently before dropping her hand.

"You have no idea how much you mean to Rachel," she said, more tears falling. "The way she talked about you when you weren't around… it was like you were her favorite person in the entire world. She told me how you stuck up for her when others were being cruel. She might have loved me like a mother, but you were the one she trusted more than anyone, honey."

There was that word again. Trust. It was really such a huge word that meant so much.

And he broke that trust between him and Rachel.

"Did Janice say how she was doing?" Finn asked in a small voice, looking down at his lap.

"Janice said she was scared," Carole said, her voice breaking. "When the judge decided on the sentence, Rachel cried." Finn felt like someone punched him in the gut. She was so sad and scared… and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Did you talk to Kurt about why he did it?" Finn asked, needing to think about something other than the girl he loved being scared and alone in a jail cell.

"He said things aren't going so great in New York and that he needed the money," Carole replied, wiping under her eyes with the tissue again. "I told him that he could have just asked for it, but he didn't want us to think he was a failure." Finn shook his head slowly. This whole thing was stupid and it shouldn't have happened.

"What do we do now?" Finn asked, his voice hollow.

"Kurt and I are going to see Rachel tomorrow," Carole replied. "I'm going to bring her a few things to make sure she has everything she needs… Do you want to go?"

"She won't want to see me," Finn murmured. "I messed everything up too badly."

"You can write her a letter and I'll give it to her," Carole suggested. "Even though she might be angry with you, she needs to know that you're still there for her. That we all are."  
That night at dinner, everyone was quiet. Finn couldn't help but think about Rachel. He spent the entire afternoon thinking about what he should write for her in a letter, but everything sounded stupid.

He was doing the dishes when Kurt came in the kitchen and slipped a plate into the sink.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"I know," Finn replied, not taking his eyes off of the fork and sponge in his hands. Without another word, Kurt walked away.

The next morning, Finn was already awake and doing chores when his mom and Kurt got ready to leave.

"Did you write a letter, sweetie?" Carole asked.

Finn shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything to say besides sorry," he replied.

"I'll tell her you said that then," Carole said with a small smile. "After you're done with things, I'm going to need you to run to Chang's and explain to Mike and Rachel's friends what happened."

Finn gulped. Santana was going to kill him.

"I will," he muttered.

"And I'll talk to Rachel and see if she's okay with you visiting her," Carole said with a small smile. Finn nodded and smiled gratefully, even though he knew that she wouldn't want to see him for a while.

After saying goodbye, Carole and Kurt left. Finn wished he was going with them.

Later that afternoon, Finn walked out of Chang's with a red, sore cheek. Santana didn't kill him, but she did slap the shit out of him. Mike, on the other hand, looked sad but didn't turn violent. He was afraid of talking to Santana again, so he told Mike to tell Santana that his mom would call with the jail address in case anyone wanted to visit her.

By the time he got back home, his mom and Kurt were already back. He rushed inside, needing to know if Rachel was okay.

Kurt was on the couch with the TV on, but Finn could tell that he wasn't really watching it. Finn sat in the armchair by the couch, facing Kurt.

"How was she?" he asked worriedly. Kurt shrugged.

"She started crying and mom started crying, so I started crying," Kurt said sadly. "She said the other girls there aren't really nice and that she wanted to come home." Finn watched as a tear fell down Kurt's cheek. "I've never felt more terrible for someone in my entire life. She just looked so tiny and scared… Me and mom considered breaking her out of there." Finn smiled for just a moment before he started frowning like Kurt.

"Did she say if I could come visit her?" Finn asked, his voice quiet and nervous.

"She asked for some time," Kurt said. He cleared his throat. "It's obvious that she's hurt, Finn, but I don't think she hates you."

"She should," Finn murmured.

"From what I saw and what mom has told me about Rachel, I don't think she's capable of hating people," Kurt replied.

"She's pretty good at giving someone the silent treatment though," Finn replied.

"How would you know?" Kurt asked, sounding a little angry. "What else have you done to that girl?" Finn was silent for a few moments before deciding that telling Kurt wasn't worth getting yelled at.

"It's a long story and I don't feel like getting slapped again," Finn replied, remembering all too well how pissed Rachel was after he got drunk during Santana's party.

"Well, I'm glad someone slapped you. I didn't feel like it was my place since I messed up as well," Kurt replied, sounding ashamed.

"Yeah… But if I can forgive you, maybe Rachel can forgive me," Finn said hopefully.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

It took three weeks before Rachel agreed to see Finn after Kurt had already headed back to New York. By that time, Carole had set up a little system. She would visit Rachel every Friday and bring her what she needed. Rachel had called every night, but she only talked to Carole or Kurt. It hurt Finn's feelings when she refused to talk to him the first couple of weeks, but he figured he deserved it. Finn might have been hurting, but Rachel was probably hurting more.

He knew it was silly, but he wore Rachel's favorite shirt of his to go and visit her. He even brought the picture of him, Rachel, and Barbra, hoping that it would help make her feel a bit better when she saw it.

Finn's knee bounced nervously the entire ride, wondering what the visit would be like. He really hoped she wouldn't cry since he hated seeing her like that. He also hoped that she wouldn't yell because that would kind of suck.

He had never been inside of a jail before, so it made him uneasy to step inside the visitor's waiting area. The room was large and white with little tables all over the place. There were metal stools that were attached to the ground that they had to sit on. The stools were short, so Finn was pretty uncomfortable as he sat and waited for Rachel.

"I thought we had to see them behind a glass," Finn whispered to his mom.

"This is minimum security, Finn," Carole said. "There's a bit more leniency here."

"Oh," Finn murmured. Finn noticed that there weren't that many other people waiting to visit someone and he wondered if anyone had visitors every week and phone calls every night like Rachel did.

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, a door opened at the other end of the room and people started walking in. They were wearing orange, so Finn figured that they were prisoners just like Rachel was.

It made him want to throw up just thinking that Rachel was a _prisoner_.

He finally spotted her walking toward them and he could feel his pulse quicken. She somehow looked smaller than before, almost like she was losing weight. She also looked sad, which made him feel guilty. But she still looked beautiful. Even in the ugly orange jumpsuit.

"Hi, sweetie," Carole said warmly. Rachel let just a small smile form on her lips. His mom got up and pulled Rachel in for a hug, holding her tightly for a few moments. Finn stood up, too, really hoping that she wouldn't just act like he wasn't there.

He was really surprised when she let go of his mom and walked over to him to hug him tightly. He hugged her back and almost felt like crying again; he just missed having her around so badly.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into her ear as they still clung to each other.

"Me, too," he heard her reply. She then let go of him and reached a hand up to wipe tears away quickly. Rachel walked around to the other side of the table and took a seat.

"I miss you both so much," she admitted. Finn's eyebrows shot up, making Rachel laugh lightly. "Yes, even you, Finn."

"But I thought you were, like, _super_ pissed at me," he replied, sounding confused.

"Am I still hurt? Yes," she admitted. "But I'm not angry. Not anymore. Plus, Santana told me that she slapped you. I figured that was punishment enough." Finn suddenly found himself smiling, which he didn't think would happen during this visit.

"It didn't feel too good," he admitted.

"I believe it," Rachel replied with another small smile.

"Are things any easier, honey?" Carole asked, concern lacing her tone.

"Honestly, they're still about the same," Rachel replied sadly. "Some of the girls here seem to hate me; they make the bullies in high school look like angels. For some reason, one girl tried to fight with me at breakfast, saying that I looked at her the wrong way…" Finn closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. This is exactly the type of thing he didn't want to hear.

"If I could get you out of here, I would," Carole said, reaching out to grab Rachel's hand.

"I know that," Rachel replied with a smile. "It's not bad _all_ of the time, though. I've gotten plenty of reading done." Finn couldn't help but chuckle. Rachel _would_ try and see a bright side to being in jail.

"Anything good?" Finn asked.

"Nothing you would ever read," Rachel replied with a smile. "The entire time I've known you, you've only ever read directions for microwaveable food or the back of the cereal box."

"She has a point," Carole said with a laugh.

"I guess so," Finn laughed.

"You'll be out of here before you know it though," Carole said calmly.

"Sixty eight days to be exact," Rachel replied with a nod. "I've got a countdown in my cell." Finn swallowed deeply, not liking the way Rachel talked about being in jail. Someone like her wasn't supposed to be in a place like this.

"What are you doing after that?" Finn asked. He mentally crossed his fingers and hoped that she'd be coming back to the ranch.

"I'm not sure," she said quietly. "Janice said something about a women's shelter here in Denver. They help women get back on their feet after getting out of jail." Finn looked to his mom and saw her frowning.

"Do you not want to come back and live with us?" he asked, sounding hurt. Rachel looked at him with a heartbroken expression.

"Finn, that's _your_ home. I only went there to work off my jail time," Rachel she said quietly. "I don't want to be a burden on your family anymore."

"You've never been a burden," he said firmly. "It's weird without you there now… And Barbra misses you," he added more softly. Rachel looked down at the mention of the mare.

"Can I just…" she mumbled. "Can you give me some time to think about it?" Finn nodded. She wanted to go back to the ranch more than anything. But could she be around Finn everyday again, knowing that he didn't really trust her? Sure, he apologized, but he said he trusted her before and really didn't… How could she believe what he said?

And there was also the fact that she _still_ loved him, despite the terrible things he said to her. Most nights, she lay there wondering what hurt more – the things Finn said or the fact that she loved him and he didn't love her back…

Going back to the ranch and being around him again would be a hard thing to do.

"I, uh… I brought you this," Finn said before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the picture that he had brought with him and slid it across the table. He watched as Rachel's eyes lit up as she smiled.

"How is she?" Rachel asked, looking from the picture to Carole and back to Finn.

"She's restless sometimes," Finn admitted. "But she let mom ride her the other day."

"Your mom told me about that," Rachel said. She smiled at Carole before looking back down at the picture, her smile faltering a bit. "I miss her so much."

_Not as much as I miss you_, Finn thought. They chatted a bit more before Carole gave Rachel some more shampoo and things that she thought Rachel would need.

"I appreciate this so much, but I really wish you wouldn't spend so much money on me," Rachel said.

"Rachel, I've told you this numerous times," Carole said, shaking her head in amusement. "You said that I'm like a mother to you… Well, you're like a daughter to me." Finn saw the tears forming in the corners of her eyes again.

Suddenly, a bell rang.

"Visiting time's over," Rachel said, noticing Finn's look of confusion.

"But we just got here," Finn complained.

"It always passes faster than you think it does," Rachel said with a small smile. She got up and Carole and Finn both copied her. She went to hug Carole first, whispering things in her ear that Finn couldn't hear.

"I love you, sweetie," he heard his mom say. Rachel pulled away and the tears were falling more rapidly now. He noticed that his mom was crying, too.

"Thank you for coming, Finn," Rachel said before pulling him in for another hug.

"Whenever you want me to visit, I'll be here," he said into her ear.

"I'd like that," she replied, truly meaning it. He hugged her tightly and she never wanted him to let go, even though he hurt her so badly. Rachel let go of him after what she thought was too short of a time.

"Can I talk to you when you call the house?" he asked nervously. Rachel wiped away more tears and laughed.

"Of course, Finn," she said. "And I expect daily reports on how Barbra's doing," she said firmly. "If she so much as refuses to eat a carrot, I want to know about it."

"You got it," he replied, smiling widely.

She reached out and grabbed the bag of stuff that Carole had brought her before sliding the picture inside. She was still crying, but she tried to smile for their benefit.

"We'll be back next week," Carole reassured her.

"I'll be counting down the days," Rachel replied. She threw them one last smile before turning away, heading toward the door she had entered through. Before she left the room, she turned back around and waved to the both of them.

Finn smiled sadly and waved back, trying not to look like a sissy and cry.

As they pulled away from the jail, he couldn't help but look up at all the windows, wondering which one was Rachel's.

He also wondered if she'd come back to the ranch and stay with them again. It was too quiet now while he did chores by himself and ate dinner with his mom. He also wanted to hear her sing again. He'd only really heard her once, but he hoped he'd get the chance to again.

_I guess we'll find out in 68 days_, he thought.

TBC

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

A/N: You might be mad at me after this chapter, but it had to happen! The next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Thank all of you for reading and leaving reviews! I can't tell you how much that means to me! :)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I still don't own anything.

Barbra: Chapter Six

The next 68 days were damn near torturous for Finn. The best and worst part of each day was talking to Rachel. It was awesome because he missed her and loved hearing her voice and her laugh. It completely sucked because it reminded him that she wasn't there. Plus, he could tell even when she was laughing that she was completely miserable.

Just like she asked, he gave daily reports of how Barbra was doing. He told Rachel how much the horse ate, when she got a bath, and how long she exercised, among other things. Finn and Carole even brought Rachel a new picture of Barbra each week to prove that she wasn't being neglected.

At the end of each visit, Carole and Rachel both cried and Finn barely kept it together.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Time passed and it was suddenly November, so it was already ridiculously cold outside. Heaters had to be placed in the stables to keep the horses warm and the fireplace was almost always lit. All of the pigs were sold, so Finn didn't have to worry about them freezing. But that gave him more time to just sit around and think, which was never a great thing when all you thought about was how much you missed someone.

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, the day finally came when Rachel was being released. Finn was glad that she wasn't stuck in that place anymore, but just last night she told him that she was going to give the women's shelter a try. Finn tried to not sound too disappointed when she shared the news.

She promised that she'd try and visit during Christmas, which made him feel a bit better.

But in all actuality, knowing that she didn't want to come back to the ranch hurt like hell.

Kurt was on Thanksgiving Break from school and was due back any day now, so Finn hoped that his visit would provide some sort of distraction from thinking about Rachel.

Finn was in the living room with his mom when they heard a car coming down the long driveway. His mom got up quickly and went over to the window.

"It's a cab," she said excitedly. "Your brother's home." Finn smiled. Even though Kurt made a mistake, Finn had forgiven him a while ago. His mom was more upset than angry, so she forgave him easily.

"Oh! I forgot to change his sheets," Carole said quickly. "Help your brother in with his things, I'll be right back." Finn laughed as his mom rushed into Kurt's room. She'd baby them until they were thirty if he gave her the chance to.

Finn got up off the couch and went to the door, grabbing his coat from the coat hanger and sliding it on. When he was buttoned up, he opened the door and stepped outside. It was a cloudy day, so it was colder than usual.

Kurt was grabbing his things out of the trunk of the cab, so Finn went over there to help him out.

"Finn!" Kurt said with a smile as soon as he spotted his brother. "I brought a surprise!" Finn thought it was just going to be another souvenir from New York or something.

That's why his eyes bugged out when Rachel stepped out from behind Kurt. She had the biggest smile on her face and Finn couldn't help but smile in return before rushing forward.

He grabbed Rachel and crushed her to his chest in a massive bear hug. She hugged him back tightly and his cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so widely.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked incredulously. "You told me you were staying in Denver." He set her back down and she smiled up at him.

"I was going to, but then Kurt showed up and convinced me otherwise," Rachel explained. Finn looked at Kurt questioningly.

"I couldn't help but feel like this entire thing was my fault…" Kurt said somberly. "So, I decided to fix it." Finn laughed before pulling Kurt in for a tight hug.

"Finn, my jacket is vintage," Kurt grumbled. "You're going to wrinkle it." Finn rolled his eyes but let go of his little brother. "Thank you," Kurt said, dusting invisible lint off of his jacket. He then walked around toward the driver's side of the cab. Finn assumed he was paying the cab fare. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel shiver.

"Wait," Finn said quickly, looking at Rachel. "Why don't you have a jacket on?"

"This is the outfit I went to jail in, Finn," Rachel explained. "Don't worry. I have a coat in the trailer."

Rachel grabbed one of Kurt's bags and Finn grabbed the two other ones before walking inside.

"Mom!" Finn shouted excitedly. "Guess who's here?" Carole came rushing into the room and squealed when she saw Rachel standing there, making Finn laugh. Carole kissed Rachel's forehead before pulling her in for a warm, motherly hug.

"You should have told me you were coming!" Carole laughed before letting go of the tiny girl.

"I didn't even know I was," Rachel admitted with a smile. "I was released at eight this morning and I walked out and saw Kurt standing there with Janice. It took them five minutes to convince me that coming back here would be better for me." Just then, the door opened and Kurt came inside. Carole went and hugged her youngest son before kissing his cheek.

"What made you go and pick up Rachel?" she asked curiously.

"I knew how much you both missed her," he said, looking from his mom to Finn and back again. "Every time I talked to you on the phone, we ended up worrying about how she was doing."

"That's very sweet of all of you, but I was doing okay," Rachel insisted. Finn raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "Fine," she huffed. "I was miserable there."

"At least it's over now, sweetie," Carole said comfortingly.

"Plus, we went to a court hearing before we left and Rachel's license was reinstated," Kurt said with a smile.

"So now I don't need to ask for rides anywhere anymore," Rachel said. "And if there's an emergency, I'll be able to drive legally. Right, Finn?" Rachel asked with a smile. Finn's cheeks grew red, knowing that she was referring to the incident at Santana's party again.

"Yeah. Right," Finn said with a nod.

"Do I want to know what you're talking about?" Carole asked.

"It's all in the past now," Rachel replied.

"Hey mom, what's for dinner?" Finn asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Good question," Kurt agreed. "Rachel and I only shared a sandwich on the cab ride here."

"Looks like I need to start cooking!" Carole said happily. "We have two homecomings to celebrate and Rachel's looking far too thin." She rushed off into the kitchen, leaving Rachel, Finn, and Kurt in the living room.

"I thought you'd rush off to see that horse of yours before even coming inside the house," Kurt joked. Rachel's face brightened before she ran out the front door. Finn and Kurt followed behind and watched her jog toward the stables.

"It's freezing outside," Kurt complained, realizing Rachel was still only wearing a t-shirt.

"I don't think she cares," Finn chuckled.

Rachel rushed into the stables and ran to Barbra's stall. The mare was facing away from Rachel, so she clicked her tongue excitedly. Rachel watched as her horse turned around and walked over toward her. Rachel opened the stall door and stepped inside.

"Hi, sweetie!" she laughed before the horse nuzzled its face against her arm. Rachel stood at Barbra's side and rubbed her affectionately. "I missed you so much!" Barbra made that happy vibrating sound that Rachel loved. She even decided that Barbra making that noise was her favorite sound, even more than listening to herself sing.

"Someone's happy to see you," she heard Finn chuckle from behind her. Rachel turned and smiled at him.

"I don't think anyone's happier than I am at this moment," Rachel said before turning back to her horse. "I'm finally home."

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

After dinner, which was happier and louder than it had been in the last three months, Rachel called Santana to tell her the good news – that she was back and wasn't ever going to leave again.

Within five minutes of the conversation, Santana planned a party for that night.

"I _just _got back, Santana," Rachel laughed. "I'd kind of like to enjoy a nice, quiet night in."

"Rachel, this isn't all about you," Santana replied, making Rachel laugh. "I needs to get my party on. And now I have the perfect reason to do that."

"So you want to throw a party because you feel like partying and not because you missed me?" Rachel asked.

"Don't go getting all emotional on me," Santana said. "You know I missed you, Berry."

"I missed you too, Santana," Rachel replied sweetly.

"Enough of that," Santana said quickly. "Now, wear those skinny jeans and that blue top I let you borrow before you were locked up." Rachel frowned a little, remembering the last three months. "And wear those heels of yours and you'll look hot."

"I didn't say I was coming!" Rachel protested.

"Bring Frankenteen and that sister of his," Santana teased. "I'll see you at seven." Before Rachel could say anything else, Santana hung up the phone.

"That was rude," Rachel complained before placing the phone back on the receiver.

"What was?" Kurt asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Santana insisting I go to a party against my will," Rachel grumbled.

"You should go," Kurt said with a smile. "Celebrate your newfound freedom."

"I just wanted to sit around tonight," Rachel replied.

"You can sit around tomorrow and every other night after that," Kurt replied. Rachel huffed.

"Fine. But she invited you, too," Rachel replied. "And Finn."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Kurt groaned. "I need time to get ready."

"I learned about it two minutes ago, Kurt," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"Still," Kurt replied. "When did she say to be there?"

"Seven," Rachel replied. Kurt looked at the clock on the microwave and his eyes grew wide.

"It's almost six," he said, sounding worried.

"Kurt, that gives us an hour," Rachel said calmly.

"You wouldn't understand," he said, shaking his head. "Just go and tell my brother our plans and then get ready!" Kurt quickly left the kitchen, muttering to himself all the way down the hallway.

Rachel rolled her eyes before walking out into the living room where Finn and Carole were sitting.

"What was Kurt complaining about?" Finn asked curiously.

"Well, Santana's throwing a party tonight in my honor and invited the two of you. Kurt was angry because he said he didn't have enough time to get ready," Rachel replied with a smile. "Is it alright if we go?" Rachel asked Carole.

"Sweetie, you're all adults," Carole laughed. "I can't stop you from going. And I'm sure your friends missed you."

"I guess we'll go then," she said with a nod. She then turned her attention back to Finn. "Are you sure you can handle another one of Santana's parties?" Rachel asked.

Finn cleared his throat. "I think so," he muttered uncomfortably.

"Stay away from that Mexican food, Finn," Carole warned seriously.

"I second that," Rachel said with a smile. "We wouldn't want you to come down with food poisoning again." Finn glared at her, but the smile didn't leave her face. "I'll go get ready. Santana wants us there at seven." She walked out the front door and went to her trailer to get ready.

Rachel was a tiny girl, but even she had to wiggle a bit to get the skinny jeans to slide on. Once they were buttoned, she hoped that she wouldn't have to use the bathroom too much since the jeans put up such a fight. She was surprised that jeans that fit Santana would also fit her, but Rachel's legs were incredibly long.

The blue top was loose and the fabric was breezy, with the neckline plunging lower than Rachel would usually wear. But even though her boobs were on the tiny side, they still looked fantastic in the top. When her heels were on, she started curling her hair.

Rachel couldn't help herself – she hoped that Finn would think she looked attractive in this outfit. The feelings she'd had for him since the beginning were still there and she wondered if they'd ever go away. Even though he hurt her pretty badly all those months ago, she still wanted to be around him.

She still loved him.

But she promised herself that tonight was all about having fun and letting loose. Figuring out her relationship with Finn, or whatever you wanted to call it, could wait.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn's jaw dropped when Rachel stepped out of her trailer. He hurried up and closed it so that she wouldn't see his reaction, but _damn!_

She looked like a completely different Rachel than the one he remembered visiting in jail. The jeans she was wearing accentuated her slim and sexy legs. Her boobs were _awesome_ and just _right there_, begging for him to look.

So that's what he did.

"Um, Finn?" he heard Rachel say. He looked up and could see that she was blushing a little.

"Sorry… I, uh, got distracted," he mumbled, also starting to blush. He looked down at the ground and missed seeing Rachel's smile. It felt like he was in high school all over again, embarrassing the crap out of himself in front of a gorgeous girl. Rachel quickly slipped her coat on.

"Should we get going?" she asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "We're, uh, taking my mom's car, so…" Rachel found his embarrassment adorable and flattering.

"Follow me then," Rachel said with a smile. She walked over toward where Carole's car was parked, resisting the urge to turn and see if Finn was distracted by another one of her assets. Kurt was already in the car, sitting in the backseat. She opened the passenger side door and heard him singing along to the radio.

"Who sings this?" Rachel asked, never having heard the song before.

"Oh, it's a new Katy Perry song," Kurt replied. "They've been playing it nonstop for weeks."

"Well, I was kind of in jail, Kurt," Rachel said awkwardly. "I couldn't really keep up with the current popular trends or anything…"

"Right," Kurt murmured. The driver's side door opened and Finn climbed into the car. Rachel smiled at him and he smirked before starting the car.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

"I can't believe she got this many people to show up in only an hour's notice," Rachel said in astonishment, looking at the street that had cars parked bumper to bumper. "And Puck's here. Hooray," Rachel added sarcastically, making Finn and Kurt chuckle.

"At least you know Quinn won't be here," Finn stated. "Santana would never invite Quinn to her house."

"I will never understand how you dated that girl," Rachel said, shaking her head.

"No one on the entire planet can understand that," Kurt added from the back seat. Finn rolled his eyes, but didn't respond.

Rachel looped her arm around Kurt's as they walked up to Santana's house with Finn following behind. As soon as they walked inside, Rachel was practically tackled by Brittany.

"Lord Tubbington just _knew_ that you'd come back!" Brittany gushed as she squeezed Rachel. "I'm so glad to see you!" Rachel laughed lightly and hugged Brittany back.

"It's good to see you too," Rachel replied with a smile.

"There's my little jailbird," Santana called. Rachel let go of Brittany and surged forward to hug Santana.

"You're officially more badass than me," Santana said once she let go, making Rachel laugh.

A little more than three hours later, Rachel Berry had a couple of drinks in her and was feeling completely relaxed and carefree. She was caught dancing between both Santana and Brittany, doing moves she never would do sober. The moves were raunchy enough that every guy at the party had their eyes on the three girls.

Well, except for Kurt.

Finn wasn't really focused on Brittany and Santana; his eyes were glued to Rachel and the way she was dancing. Finn wished that he was a good enough dancer so that he could dance with her, but he'd just end up embarrassing himself. He sat up straighter as Rachel came stumbling over toward him.

Instead of sitting next to him on the couch, she plopped down on his lap.

"Hey there," she said with a smile. Finn chuckled.

"Hey," he replied. "You having a good time?"

"I was," she replied. "I'm getting sleepy now." As a testament to that, she laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled into his chest. Finn's pulse quickened at her close proximity and he wrapped his arm around her back.

"What was Puck talking to you about earlier?" Finn asked curiously.

"He just said he was sorry for saying all that mean stuff when he first met me," Rachel murmured tiredly. "He said you told him what really happened and everything."

"I did," Finn replied. "I hope that's cool."

"I don't care," Rachel replied her voice growing quieter and quieter. "I made up for my mistakes, so it doesn't matter if people know the truth now."

"I guess you're right," Finn replied. He suddenly tensed as Rachel wiggled around a bit, trying to get more comfortable in his lap. He had to think of something that he hadn't thought of since high school – the mailman.

His mom had taken him for his first driving lesson in town when he was sixteen. He hadn't been playing the closest attention to his surrounding and had accidently hit Springfield's only mailman. It scared the crap out of him.

So, from that point on, when he became… sexually aroused… he thought of the mailman to calm himself down so he wouldn't cream in his pants.

That's what he had to think of now as the most gorgeous girl he'd ever seen rubbed up against him.

"I missed you, Finn," Rachel murmured into his chest.

"I missed you too, Rach," he replied.

What happened next shocked him.  
Rachel craned her neck up and kissed the spot right next to his lips. He looked down at her and saw her smile faintly before she snuggled back into his chest.

He knew that he should probably find Kurt so they could head home. Instead, he smirked and held her more tightly.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

The next morning, Rachel woke up with a little bit of a headache. She rolled over and stretched, trying to remember the events of last night.

She could easily recall her conversation with Puck since she'd only had one drink at that point; she had forgiven him for being so rude when they first met. She also remembered dancing rather provocatively with Brittany and Santana. She remembered kissing Finn…

Wait.

Her eyes flew open.

She kissed Finn.

She remembered that it was only on the _side_ of his mouth, but that could be counted as making the first move, right?

So, either she freaked Finn out or set things in motion. She then figured the day had the possibility of being very awkward.

The other thing that she realized was that it wasn't dark in her trailer. The sun was peeking through her curtains. She overslept.

Why hadn't Finn come to wake her up?

Rachel got up quickly and got dressed for the day, deciding to skip breakfast to make up for the lost time. After her teeth were brushed, she put on her coat before sliding on her work gloves and rushing out the door.

Finn was right outside of the stables, brushing Travis, with Puck at his side.  
"There's sleeping beauty," Puck chuckled as she came closer.

"It's nice to see you too, Noah," Rachel replied. She then turned to Finn. "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked.

"You covered for me that one time I got drunk," Finn said with a shrug. "And I figured you'd want to sleep in your bed for a while. It's gotta be more comfortable than the beds in jail."

"Well, yes," Rachel agreed. "But you shouldn't have to do everything by yourself."

"Don't worry about it, Rach," Finn said insisted.

"Impressive dance moves last night, Berry," Puck said with a smirk. "Do you remember bumping and grinding with those friends of yours?" Rachel glanced at Finn and saw him look away quickly.

"I remember everything that happened last night," Rachel replied. "I wasn't _that_ inebriated."

"You remember everything?" Finn asked suddenly. Rachel looked at him and saw that he was blushing a bit.

"Yes. Everything," Rachel said significantly. Deciding to just go for it, she smiled at him. Finn smiled back just a bit.

"What's going on with you two?" Puck asked, sounding confused.

"It's none of your business," Rachel said with a smug smile. "I'm going to go grab Barbra." She walked off with a smile on her face. Finn wasn't as freaked out as she thought he'd be. Maybe his feelings for her weren't nonexistent, after all.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Puck joined Rachel, Finn, Carole, and Kurt for lunch. When he wasn't being a total asshole, Rachel decided that Puck was quite pleasant to be around. Rachel learned that he and Quinn were fighting over the fact that he went to Santana's party last night that was thrown in Rachel's honor. Puck refused to tell Rachel the things that Quinn had called her.

"I'm gonna take Barbra for a ride," Rachel announced as Puck, Finn, and her headed back outside.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Finn asked. He knew that Rachel would have no trouble finding her way back since she used to ride Barbra on her own all the time, but he kinda wanted to ride along with her.

"I appreciate the offer, but I kind of just want it to be me and Barbra," Rachel said. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Finn said quickly. "Me and Puck will probably just hang around here then."

Barbra grabbed the saddle and blanket from the barn before bringing Barbra back out. She remembered how to put the saddle on the correct way, but she still had Finn check to make sure.

"You're good," Finn said after tightening some of the straps. He stood to Rachel's side as she climbed onto Barbra's back, making sure she didn't fall. Puck chuckled after watching Rachel have to hop pretty high in order to get on the horse.

As soon as Rachel was settled, she leaned forward and pet Barbra's side gently.

"That's a good girl," she murmured. Barbra neighed and shook her head before lifting one of her feet up and slamming it back down.

"I think she's ready to run," Finn chuckled. Rachel smiled widely.

"Let's go then," she said to the horse. She nudged the mare's side with her boots before clicking her tongue.

Then, Barbra was off.

Finn watched her riding away with a smile on his face.

"Dude!" Puck chuckled. "You totally wanna bone her!" Finn shoved Puck away from him and shot him a glare.

"I never said that," Finn grumbled.

"Then why the hell were you just standing there smiling like an idiot?" Puck asked. "And what about last night when she was all over you and you looked pretty damn happy about it?"

"It's none of your business," Finn snapped.

"Shit," Puck mumbled. "Don't tell me you have a thing for a chick that's spent more time in jail than I have."

"You said you'd stop talking about her like that," Finn growled.

"I didn't mean it like that," Puck said quickly. "But seriously, dude, do you like her?" Finn opened his mouth to respond, but the words wouldn't come out. "Fuck. You _love_ her, don't you?" he asked incredulously.

"I swear, if you say anything to anyone, I will kill you," Finn warned.

"I won't!" Puck chuckled, finding the situation funnier than Finn did. "Do you think she likes you?"

"I don't know," Finn said honestly. "I mean, I _think _she does, but I'm not sure."

"Grow a fucking pair and ask her," Puck insisted. "It's not rocket science."

"If it was that easy, I would have already done it," Finn murmured.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Rachel's face was starting to feel cold from the cold wind hitting her skin, but the feeling of being on her horse again was well worth the sting of wind burn. Rachel could tell that Barbra was enjoying herself by the way she was running faster than she ever had before. Rachel followed the usual trail before branching off on another one so that Barbra would get more exercise.

Rachel became a bit worried when Barbra suddenly started slowing down and looking around.

"What is it, sweetie?" Rachel asked. She knew the horse couldn't answer her, but usually just the sound of Rachel's voice calmed her down. "It's okay, Barbra." She let go of the reins and pet Barbra's side, trying to soothe her.

It didn't seem to be working this time. Barbra started blowing out of her nose and shaking her head, making Rachel uneasy. She remembered Finn telling her that horses did that when they were scared or nervous.

A sudden gunshot made Rachel's heart stop beating.

Barbra freaked out more, rearing up on her hind legs and making a screaming noise that Rachel had never heard her make before. Rachel frantically reached for the reins, trying to keep herself on Barbra's back, but it was no use.

Rachel felt herself falling before everything went black.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn was helping Puck to put a saddle on his horse, Collin, when he heard the sound of heavy hooves pounding against the ground. He turned around, expecting to see Rachel coming toward him, riding Barbra.

He freaked out a little when he saw that Barbra's saddle was empty; Rachel was gone.

Barbra galloped toward them, coming to a sudden stop in front of Finn. She was making high keening noises and stomping her feet.

Finn reached out and grabbed her reins before petting her side, trying to calm her down. She wouldn't stop making the whining sounds and Finn knew it couldn't have been a good thing.

"Where the hell's Berry?" Puck asked, surprising Finn by sounding worried.

"I don't know," he replied, his voice shaking. "I have a bad feeling though." He ran a hand through his hair before quickly climbing onto Barbra.

"Get on your horse," Finn commanded once he was settled on Barbra's back. "We have to find her." Puck nodded before climbing onto Collin's back.

Then, without Finn having to say or do anything, Barbra started galloping, leading the way to Rachel.

A/N: That's a smart horse, huh? I've actually heard of horses doing things like that, so it's completely plausible. The next chapter will be posted soon so you can see if Rachel's okay! Thanks for reading‼ :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I still own nothing. **

Barbra: Chapter Seven

"Where the _hell_ is she?" Finn heard Puck growl from behind him. They were further down the path than Finn thought Rachel would go, but Barbra seemed to know exactly where they were headed.

"I don't know!" Finn shouted behind him as the mare continued to gallop. "I'm not the one leading the horse!" They made a sharp turn and continued racing along the path, the cold wind making Finn's eyes burn and start to water. He grew even more alert as he felt Barbra start to slow down. That could only mean that they were close.

"You've got your phone, right?" Finn shouted to Puck who was now at his side on his horse, Collin.

"Yeah, but I don't know if it will even work all the fucking way out here," he complained.

"Shit," Finn cursed. Barbra slowed down dramatically, and Finn started looking around for Rachel. He really hoped that whatever happened wasn't too bad.

He spotted a dark mass that was partially hidden by a bush. He pulled on the reins, signaling for Barbra to stop before sliding off of her back quickly. He jogged around the bush and his hopes plummeted when he saw a pale Rachel lying on the ground, her limbs lying at odd angles.

Finn rushed to her side and kneeled beside her.

He reached a hand out and felt her neck, feeling a slow but steady pulse with his fingers.

"Rachel," he said firmly, hoping to wake her up. He didn't want to touch her, not knowing what was wrong. He noticed a dark stain by the side of her head and bent closer to see what it was.

"Is that blood?" Puck asked, startling Finn. Finn didn't even hear him walk up to them. Finn shrugged before reaching his hand out slowly. He cupped the back of Rachel's head gently and gasped when he felt a liquid coat his fingers. He pulled his hand away too see that the liquid was dark red in color. It was blood.

"Go back to the house and call for an ambulance," Finn said in a rush. "I don't think we should move her." Finn looked up and saw Puck nod before rushing back toward his horse.

"Keep her warm," Puck commanded. "It's fucking freezing out here." Finn nodded before taking off his outer jacket. He slung it over Rachel and tucked her in gently. Finn heard Puck call to his horse and Finn looked up just as Puck's horse started galloping away.

"Just hold on, Rach," Finn murmured. Barbra stood protectively at Rachel's side, continuously making worried whining noises.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn sat there for what felt like a lifetime, waiting for Puck to bring help. If the ambulance was already there, he couldn't hear it. The closest hospital was at least half an hour away, so Finn knew that it would take a while before Rachel got any help.

Not caring about how cold it was, Finn laid on the ground by Rachel's side, trying to keep her warm using his body heat.

The entire time, she didn't even move.

Finn's head snapped up when Barbra suddenly tensed and let out a breath of air. Finn then heard distant shouting and climbed to his feet quickly.

"Over here!" he yelled. He ran back around the bush and down the trail a bit until he saw them coming. Puck was jogging with two paramedics behind him that were carrying a backboard for Rachel.

Puck ran to Finn's side, panting from running almost the entire way.

"They tried to bring the ambulance… but the trail narrowed too much," he explained hurriedly.

"That's alright. Thanks, man," Finn said with a nod.

"What do we got?" one of the paramedics asked as they followed Finn to Rachel's side.

"She was riding her horse and she fell off," Finn said. He didn't know for sure, but that was the only explanation that made sense. Once they spotted her, the paramedics knelt by her side and started pulling things out of her bags.

"Has she been unconscious the whole time?" the other paramedic asked.

"Yeah," Finn said uneasily. He watched as the paramedic lifted Rachel's eyelid and flashed a tiny flashlight in her eyes. "Will she- Do you think she'll be alright?" Finn asked.

"It's hard to tell now," the paramedic replied. "We'll need to get her to the hospital and the doctors will want to do some tests." Finn nodded minutely and watched nervously as the paramedics checked Rachel's vitals.

After a few minutes, they lifted her carefully onto the backboard and attached a neck brace to her. Once Rachel was lifted out of the way, Finn could see the sharp rock on the ground that was covered with Rachel's blood. He felt the bile rise up his throat and had to swallow thickly to keep it down.

"We're ready to go," the paramedic said. Finn looked from Barbra to Rachel, wondering what he should do.

"Dude, I'll take the horse back," Puck said. "You go with her." Finn smiled a bit.

"Thanks," he said. "But be careful. Rachel will seriously kill you if you hurt her horse." Puck chuckled and rolled his eyes. Finn turned to the paramedics. "Let's go," he said determinedly. Puck quickly passed them on Barbra, leaving Finn alone with the paramedics and an unconscious Rachel.

Finn couldn't help but be worried as they walked quickly along the path toward the ambulance. The paramedics weren't jogging as quickly as Finn would like, but he knew that it would be hard to run while carrying an extra hundred pounds.

Despite that, he just wished Rachel would move or say something. He knew that head wounds were serious. The fact that Rachel _still_ hadn't woken up was freaking him out even more. He kept his eyes on her the entire time, looking for any sign of movement. A finger twitching would suffice.

But nothing happened.

Carole and Kurt were waiting next to the ambulance nervously. Finn saw that Kurt had tears in his eyes and that his mom was wringing her hands and pacing back and forth. They both rushed up to Rachel's side as the paramedics carried her toward the back of the ambulance.

"How bad is it?" Carole asked, her voice cracking.

"We don't know yet, ma'am," the paramedic replied patiently. "There's only room for one passenger." Carole looked at her son and noticed him frowning.

"Finn, go with her, honey," Carole said softly. "We'll follow behind in my car." Finn smiled gratefully at his mom.

"Thanks," he murmured. Carole smiled back and placed a hand gently on his arm soothingly.

As soon as Rachel was loaded in the ambulance, Finn climbed in. Not knowing how bad her head wound was, the paramedic turned on the sirens and the ambulance sped away.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Finn was sitting with his head in his hands when his mom and Kurt rushed into the waiting room.

"How is she?" Kurt asked quickly. Finn sat up and looked at them with bleary eyes and shrugged.

"They took her back for a CAT scan and x-rays and stuff," he said. "They were worried about internal bleeding…" Carole plopped into the seat next to Finn and put her hand on his back before rubbing it in small circles.

Two hours later, a doctor came strolling into the waiting room.

"Are you all here for Rachel Berry?" he asked. Finn, Carole, and Kurt all stood up quickly.

"Yes," they said in unison.

"How is she?" Finn asked worriedly.

"The head wound is pretty serious," the doctor replied. "There is a tiny fissure in her skull that created some intracranial pressure. We're not sure how long she'll be unconscious."

"Will her memory be affected?" Kurt asked in a small voice.

"We can't be sure until she wakes up," the doctor replied. Kurt nodded, trying to hold back the tears.

"Can we see her?" Carole asked.

"Sure. I'll show you to her room," the doctor said kindly.

Finn's hands were shaking as he followed the doctor into Rachel's room. Rachel was already really, really small, but the size of the hospital bed made her look like she was ten years old instead of eighteen.

There was a bandage wrapped around her head and she had barely regained any color compared to earlier. Her hands were resting limply at her sides and Finn could see the needle for the IV that was in her arm. He knew that as soon as she woke up and saw it, she would freak out. Rachel once told Finn her long list of fears, which mostly included ridiculous things. Needles were on that list.

Now, falling off a horse might be added.

Rachel's doctor talked to Carole, but Finn was too distracted by Rachel to pay attention. He sat in a chair next to her bed and waited for her eyes to open.

"Honey," Carole said gently, placing her hand on Finn's shoulder. He turned and looked up at his mom questioningly. "Hospital rules say she can only have one visitor during the night."

Finn nodded. "I'll stay here at night then. You or Kurt can come up while I'm at home doing chores," he decided.

"Finn, she doesn't need someone at her side every moment," Kurt replied gently.

"Yes she does," Finn said firmly. "She was alone when she was hurt. She's not waking up alone." Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it and shut it again before nodding.

Then, just like when Rachel was in jail, they all waited.

Finn was typically a pretty patient guy, unless he was trying to train a horse to do something that it just _would not_ do, but as he sat by Rachel's side day by day, he couldn't help but think he'd never be able to wait patiently for anything ever again. He understood she needed time to heal, but how was he supposed to know if she was in pain or if she needed anything if she wouldn't wake up?

Once Santana, Brittany, and Mike found out about the accident, they all visited the hospital, bringing Rachel gifts. Brittany brought Rachel a stuffed unicorn, and it took Finn ten minutes to understand that Brittany calling Rachel a unicorn wasn't an insult.

Mike brought Rachel a bouquet of lilies, which he said Rachel had told him was her favorite flower once.

Santana brought Rachel a riding helmet, which kind of pissed Finn off at first. He thought she was trying to make a joke out of it. Then, after Kurt calmed him down, he realized it was actually a good idea for Rachel to wear a helmet from now on.

Kurt and Carole bought her one of practically everything from the tiny gift shop at the hospital. Pretty soon, Rachel's room was filled with balloons, flowers, stuffed animals… and a riding helmet.

Every morning, Finn would leave the hospital around five and go finish his chores while either Kurt or his mom came up to the hospital. Knowing that Rachel could wake up at any moment, Finn completed his chores faster than ever before. He would then usually shower and change his clothes before driving back up to the hospital.

The chair next to Rachel's bed was actually pretty comfortable. Since he was so tall, his feet dangled over the end of it, but it wasn't the worst thing to sleep on.

All Finn could do was eat nasty hospital food, watch crappy TV, and wait for the girl he loved to wake up.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

Nine days after the accident, Finn was sitting in the chair by Rachel's bed watching a football game. His eyes were glued to the television when something moved out of the corner of his eye. Finn turned his head and saw Rachel's leg move under the blankets. He quickly looked up to her face and could see her eyelids fluttering.

"Rachel?" he said quietly, sitting forward in his chair.

"Finn?" she murmured, her voice raspy from not being used for nine days. Rachel opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the bright lights in the room. Finn got up quickly and switched one of the light switches into the "off" position before walking back over to his chair. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Finn smiled widely. "How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Thirsty," she replied in a small voice. Finn looked around and spotted the bottle of water his mom had bought him before she left. He grabbed it and twisted the cap off before handing it to Rachel. She lifted her hand but then stopped after she felt a tugging on her arm.

She looked down and her eyes widened when she saw the needle in her skin.

"Rach, don't freak out," Finn said quickly. "Just act like it's not there." Rachel put her right hand back down with a frown and grabbed he bottle with her left.

Finn hit the button on the side of the bed to help her sit up, surprising Rachel. It was almost like there was a wordless communication between the two of them.

Once the bed stopped moving, Rachel lifted the bottle to her lips and drank greedily.

"So much better," she moaned after the bottle was almost halfway gone, making Finn chuckle. He grabbed the bottle and recapped it before setting it back down.

"Now how do you feel?" he asked.

"My head is pounding," she admitted. "How bad is it?"

"The doctor said you cracked your skull and there was pressure in your brain or something like that," Finn admitted. Rachel's eyes grew wide again.

"How long have I been unconscious then?" she asked worriedly.

"Like, nine days… Almost ten," Finn said after quickly doing the math.

"Oh," Rachel replied quietly.

"Did you fall off of Barbra or something?" Finn asked. It had been killing him that he didn't know exactly what happened.

"We were riding along the path and she started freaking out. I couldn't hear anything, but she could…" Rachel explained. "Then, we heard a gunshot and she completely lost it. I couldn't grab the reins and she practically bucked me off."

"Damn it," Finn muttered, looking away.

"What?" Rachel asked, sounding confused.

Finn took a deep breath. "I forgot to warn you that it's hunting season," he muttered. "I shouldn't have let you go out by yourself."

"Finn," Rachel said gently. She reached out with her needle-free hand and placed it on his arm. "This is not your fault. Not even in the slightest," she insisted. "I don't even blame Barbra for this. If anything, she was probably trying to warn me and I didn't catch on before she freaked out."

"It's not your fault either," Finn said firmly.

"Fine," Rachel said. "We'll just call it an accident. No one's to blame." Finn smiled up at her and she smiled back.

"I need to call mom and tell her you're awake," Finn said quickly. "She just left a little while ago, but I don't think she'll be pissed about coming back up here since you're finally awake."

"Why do I have the feeling that someone was always at my bedside?" Rachel asked with a small smile. Finn looked away. "Finn? What is it?" she asked curiously.

"I didn't want you to wake up alone," he admitted. He peeked up at Rachel and saw her smiling back widely. He gazed into her eyes and could see something different there, too. She was looking at him with some kind of emotion that he had never seen before – or one that he just never noticed.

"That's very sweet, Finn," Rachel said. "Thank you."  
"Anything for you, Rach," he said quietly, his cheeks growing red. "I'll-uh… I'll go tell the nurse you're awake and then call mom."

An hour later, Carole, Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Mike, and Puck were all in Rachel's room. A nurse already came in and tried to tell them that visiting hours were over, but Santana took her in the hallway and talked to her for a few moments.

Rachel wondered what she said to the poor nurse when Santana walked back in the room and said they could all stay.

A little while later, one of the doctors ushered everyone out of the room so they could make sure Rachel's short and long term memory were still intact.

Finn paced outside of her door nervously.

"Dude, you're freaking me out," Puck complained.

"I second that," Kurt said, eyeing his brother with a glare.

"Everyone just calm down," Carole said gently. "I'm sure everything's going to be fine."

"But what if it's not?" Finn asked worriedly. "What if she's like that one fish that couldn't remember something right after it happened?"

"I love that movie," Brittany said with a smile. "Lord Tubbington does, too, but I just think he wants to eat the little fish." Carole smiled at her, looking amused.

"So what do we do if that happens?" Finn reiterated.

"Then we'll deal with it, sweetie," Carole replied. Finn huffed and then dropped into a chair.

And did some more waiting.

They only had to wait half an hour this time before they were told that there was even more cause for celebration; Rachel remembered everything just fine.

She was a little bummed that her memories from being in jail were still there, but in a room full of people that cared about her, she really couldn't bring herself to complain.

The doctor even informed them that Rachel could leave within the next two days if the swelling in her brain stayed down.

Thanksgiving was the day after that.

They all had a lot to be thankful for.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

"Easy does it," Kurt murmured as he helped Rachel onto the couch in the living room.

"Kurt, I appreciate everything you're doing. Really. But I'm not that fragile," Rachel said gently.

"Says the girl whose head was cracked open and brain swelled," Kurt replied. Rachel huffed but adjusted herself on the couch. "Now remember, no riding horses for a couple of weeks."

"I know, Kurt," Rachel replied.

"And no chores for at least a week," Kurt said.

"I remember what the doctor said," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"And you have to sleep in here on the couch-" Kurt began.

"So that you guys can all keep an eye on me," Rachel interrupted. "I know. The doctor said my memory's fine."

Finn then walked through the door, carrying Rachel's flowers from the hospital. Carole was right behind him with a bag of the rest of Rachel's stuff.

"Feel good to be home?" Carole asked. Rachel smiled and nodded.

"Definitely," she replied. "Will you need any help cooking tomorrow?"

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Kurt asked sternly.

"Yes, Kurt," Rachel replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes again. "You said no horseback riding, no chores, and that I had to sleep here. You said nothing about cooking." Kurt glared at her.

"I appreciate that, sweetie, but I have Kurt and Finn here if I need any help," Carole said. "But speaking of cooking, I need to get started on dinner." With that, she rushed into the kitchen.

"And I gotta go check on the horses and chickens," Finn said.

"I'll come with you!" Rachel said excitedly. She then turned quickly to Kurt. "And the doctor said no _riding _horses. I can still visit Barbra," she said with a smug smile.

"Fine," Kurt huffed. "I need to call Blaine anyway."

"Tell that new boyfriend of yours I said hello," Rachel said.

"I'll think about it," Kurt teased before walking out of the room. Rachel turned back around to Finn.

"Are you sure about this, Rach?" Finn asked worriedly.

"Of course I'm sure," Rachel said confusedly. "Why?"

"I just thought you'd be a little nervous to be around horses again," Finn replied with a shrug.

"Finn, it's not like Barbra meant to hurt me," Rachel replied. "And I haven't seen her in _so_ long. I'm sure she misses me."

"You're probably right," Finn chuckled.

When they finally entered the stables, it seemed like Barbra really did miss Rachel. She was making those vibrating noises the entire time and was nuzzling against Rachel.

"Kurt said that she led you straight to where I was," Rachel said in wonder as she pet her horse.

"She did," Finn said with a smirk. He was leaning against the doorjamb of the stall door, smiling at the way Rachel and Barbra interacted with one another. He'd never seen anything like it before.

"That's because she's so smart," Rachel crooned before kissing the area under Barbra's eye. "But you saved me, too," she said, looking over to Finn.

"I didn't really do much," he murmured.

"That's not what Noah said," Rachel replied.

"What all did Puck say?" Finn asked. Rachel took her gaze off Barbra and looked at Finn the same way as when she woke up.

"He said that you stayed with me," Rachel said softly. "And he said that when the paramedics got there that I had your coat wrapped around me and that you had leaves all over your back like you had been lying on the ground."

"But that's not- all I did was… I just kept you warm," he sputtered. Rachel dropped her hand from Barbra and walked over to Finn until she was standing in front of him. He looked down at her expectantly before swallowing deeply.

"Finn, whether you think you did or not, you helped to save me," she said firmly. "I know that… Now I know that I can trust you again." She smiled up at Finn, who returned the smile, his cheeks reddening a bit. Rachel stood up on her tippy toes and kissed Finn on the cheek. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied. Then, Rachel launched herself forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection, pulling him into a tight hug. Finn hugged her back gently, remembering that she said she was still sore from the fall.

Rachel smiled even more widely when she felt Finn kiss the top of her head.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

That Thanksgiving was the best Thanksgiving that Rachel had ever had. She was surrounded by people that she loved and that loved her back. Santana and Brittany even dropped by with some Spanish dish that Santana's abuela had made for Carole and the family.

Carole warned Finn to not eat the spicy dish.

"We wouldn't want you to get food poisoning again, sweetie," she said kindly. Rachel started laughing hysterically and Finn's cheeks grew redder by the moment. No one else understood what was funny, but Santana excused Rachel's weirdness by blaming it on her skull being cracked open.

Kurt laughed over Brittany's Native American-inspired headband, complete with feathers, but Rachel thought it was adorable. They then left, promising to stop by and visit Rachel while she was practically banned from doing anything besides watch TV.

Rachel had to sit there alone while everyone else cooked the food it the kitchen. She was about to go and visit Barbra again when she was called to the dinner table.

Rachel sat with Finn on one side and Carole on the other with Kurt right across from her.

"We usually start off with what we're thankful for," Kurt told Rachel. Finn leaned over toward Rachel.

"It's kind of lame, but mom likes it," he whispered.

"I'll start us off then. I'm thankful for my two sons," Carole said with a smile. "And I'm thankful that Rachel came into our lives. I wouldn't have things any other way."

"I'm thankful for forgiveness," Kurt announced. "Without it, I probably wouldn't be eating with the three of you." Rachel sat up straighter when it was her turn.

"I have a lot to be thankful for, so please be patient," Rachel said, making the rest of them laugh. "First, I'm thankful that my dad is in a rehabilitation program, seeking counseling for his troubles. And though this may be a surprise, I am thankful that I was put into the situation that I was put in. Without being arrested, I wouldn't have met any of you," she said, looking around the table.

"I am also thankful that Barbra came into my life and ended up helping to save me. Kurt, I'm thankful for a great new friendship with you filled with Broadway and fashion…Even though our tastes are so different, of course," she added. Kurt nodded fervently in agreement.

"Carole, I'm thankful that I know have a mother figure in my life and I couldn't have even handpicked a better one. And Finn," Rachel said. Finn sat up, feeling nervous for some reason. "I'm glad to have you in my life. We've had our ups and downs, but I can honestly say that you've inspired me the most. I've never seen anyone do anything with as much passion as you have. The way you take care of the horses and the rest of the ranch, they way you talk about your family… I admire you."

Finn's cheeks were burning red by the end of Rachel's speech. He looked up and saw Rachel smiling widely while his mom had tears in her eyes. Kurt was looking between Rachel and Finn confusedly, like he was trying to figure something out.

"Your turn, Finn," Rachel said cheerfully.

"I don't really know how I'm supposed to top that," he admitted.

"Just say how you feel," Rachel replied. Finn nodded and cleared his throat.

"I'm just thankful to be surrounded by people that I love," he said. His and Rachel's gazes met and he hoped she understood what he meant. He then looked away just as his mom spoke.

"We all love you too, Finn" Carole replied gently.

"That's good to know," he replied with a chuckle. "But can we eat now?" Finn asked before looking at the turkey with hungry eyes.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

THREE WEEKS LATER

"Whose wedding is it?" Rachel asked.  
"Mr. Schuester's. He was the guy that worked here before you started," Finn replied. Rachel nodded, remembering the name. They were in the chicken coop, attempting to clean the place up.

"Why didn't you mention this before?"

"With you being in the hospital and stuff, I honestly forgot about it until mom said it was this weekend," Finn said with a chuckle.

"Are you asking me to be your date because I'm the only girl you hang out with?" Rachel asked amusedly.

"No," Finn replied. "I'm asking you because you're the only girl I want to go with." Rachel looked over at Finn quickly and saw that he was still sweeping the floor. He might have not realized what he just said, but Rachel did. She smiled coyly the same time that she felt that all too familiar feeling in her stomach that she got whenever Finn was around.

"In that case, I'd love to go with you," she said, trying to make her voice sound as nonchalant as possible. She turned back around and didn't see Finn smile.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

"I told you I can't do this," Finn whispered, sounding aggravated.

"Finn, you're doing just fine," Rachel replied. They were _trying_ to slow dance in the middle of the dance floor at the reception party for Mr. Schuester's wedding. Finn kept accidentally stepping on Rachel's toes. It didn't really hurt, but every time it happened, Finn got angrier and angrier with himself.

But Rachel couldn't be mad at him when he was dressed the way he was. She thought that Finn looked absolutely perfectly handsome in his suit; her heart started pounding when she first saw him. And when they sat next to each other during the wedding, he smiled at her when Mr. Schuester and the new Mrs. Emma Schuester said "I do," making her stomach flip.

Finn was really trying not to look like a zombie that had to poop, but he totally sucked at dancing. And the fact that Rachel looked all hot and gorgeous wasn't really helping him focus. The top part of her dress was blue and showed off her boobs while the bottom was black and form fitting, making Finn practically drool. And she was wearing these black pumps that made her legs look even more sexy than usual.

"See? You're getting it," Rachel said encouragingly after Finn danced for half a song without messing up.

"I still suck," he murmured.

"Stop saying that before _I _step on _your _toes," Rachel warned.

"Like that would even hurt," Finn scoffed. "You weigh practically nothing."

"As a girl, I am very flattered that you would say that, but I_ am_ wearing shoes with a particularly sharp heel," she said with a smile. Finn winced just imagining how that would hurt.

"Noted," he murmured. Rachel smiled widely.

The next song was more upbeat and Finn begged for a break.

"It's harder to move my feet faster and still know what I'm doing," he insisted. After he pouted, Rachel caved in. He led her to their table and offered to get them some drinks.

Rachel had been alone for all of three seconds before the seat next to her was filled. She looked up and saw Quinn. It took everything she had to not scowl at the girl.

"So you're here with Finn," Quinn stated

"Yes," Rachel said guardedly.

"I hope you don't think he sees you as anything more than a confidence booster."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked confusedly.

"Well, you know how a girl dates a 'bad guy' just so she looks cooler?" Quinn asked.

"You think it's the same thing with Finn," Rachel said disbelievingly.

"I _know_ it's the same thing with Finn," Quinn replied.

"You are unbelievable," Rachel said, shaking her head.

"But you know I'm right," Quinn insisted. "Do you honestly think that he would ever want to be with you? You have a _criminal record_. If the two of you have kids, do you think they'll be proud of their mom for stealing a car?" Rachel's jaw dropped before she controlled her expression and glared at Quinn.

"You don't anything about what happened," Rachel replied icily.

"Why do you think he hasn't asked you out yet, Rachel?" Quinn asked. "It's because he'd be embarrassed to be with you. I see the way you look at him all the time. I know you want to be with him, but it's not going to happen." Rachel stood up quickly and for the first time she was towering over Quinn.

"I might have a criminal record, but you're a _terrible_ person," she spat. "And I'd rather have these rumors follow me around for the rest of my life instead of being a cold, heartless bitch like _you_!"

In typical Rachel Berry fashion, she stomped away, her high heels clicking against the reception hall's hardwood floors. She stormed past Finn, who looked at her confusedly while holding two cups of punch.

"Rach?" he asked in confusion. She turned to look where she came from and saw Quinn sitting at their table, looking down at her fingernails. He set the drinks down and walked over toward her.

"What did you say to Rachel?" Finn demanded.

"I just told her the truth," Quinn replied in that fake, sweet voice of hers.

"You need to stop saying things to her," Finn said firmly. "She's done _nothing_ to you."

"Do you seriously expect me to be friends with someone like _that_?" Quinn asked incredulously. "She's a criminal, Finn."

"She didn't do what you think she did," Finn replied sharply. "And you're the only one that still has a problem with her. Everyone else gets along with her and actually likes her."

"They're nice so she won't steal from them," Quinn replied with an arrogant smile. Finn took a step back from her.

"I honestly don't know what the hell I ever saw in you," Finn said, shaking his head. "Now stay away from Rachel before I tell Santana you're still being a bitch to her." Finn turned and walked away, not giving Quinn the chance to respond.

It was freezing cold outside, so Finn knew that Rachel was still around there somewhere. He looked around at all of the other tables before scanning the dance floor. When he didn't see her anywhere, he tried to think of places she could be.

He could ask his mom to check the girl's bathroom, but then she'd know something was wrong.

But this building had two reception halls. If he was looking for a place to get away from everyone, he'd just go to the other room like this one. Finn walked out the doors and down the long hallway to the other part of the building. He pulled the door open and was surprised to see a single light on, pointing at the stage.

Rachel was sitting at the end of the stage, looking down at the ground.

"Rach?" he said, walking into the room. She looked up in surprise.

"How'd you find me?" she asked.

Finn shrugged. "If I was gonna hide out, this would be the place I'd go," he replied. Rachel laughed lightly. Finn walked up to the stage and sat next to her.

"Did you just want people to think you were cool by being friends with me?" Rachel asked abruptly. "Is that why you brought me?" Finn looked down and took a deep breath. He then steeled himself before looking back up at Rachel's curious expression.

"I brought you because I love you," he said firmly. Rachel looked completely taken by surprise. After a moment, her expression cleared and she scrutinized his face closely.

"You're lying," she accused firmly. Finn looked at her incredulously and started laughing, making Rachel glare at him.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she demanded.

"No, Rach," Finn said quickly, the smile not leaving his face. "I'm not laughing _at _you. You just never do what I expected… I mean, your first day, I expected you to come in and complain about everything and just be such a _girl_, but you didn't."

"Did you think I would swoon and fall into your arms because you finally admitted that you love me?" she asked. On the inside, she really was swooning and was about to fall into his arms, but she had to make sure he really meant what he said first.

"Well, yeah," Finn laughed. "That's kinda what I was hoping for. I mean, usually when the guy says he loves a girl, the girl's all over him and stuff…"

Suddenly, Rachel launched forward and wrapped her arms around Finn's neck, pulling him down toward her. Her lips attached to his and she started kissing him like the world was about to end. Finn wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, smiling into the kiss. She then pulled away and smiled wickedly.

"I like to keep people on their toes," she laughed. Finn chuckled before pulling her back in for another kiss, surprising her this time. Finn pushed the boundaries by licking her top lip, begging for entrance. Rachel opened her mouth almost immediately, craving that sense of closeness with him.

When they were both panting, Rachel pulled away. Finn smiled down at her before rubbing his thumb across her swollen lips. She smiled before shifting a little and lying her head on his shoulder, just like the night of the 4th of July. That night felt like a lifetime ago.

But this time, Finn grabbed her hand and they easily intertwined their fingers.

"I love you too, you know," Rachel murmured. Finn smirked.

He saw that coming.

-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-

A/N: Stay tuned for the epilogue :) Please leave a review and tell me what you thought!


	8. Epilogue

A/N: I still don't own anything.

Barbra: Epilogue

A YEAR AND A HALF LATER

Rachel was practically screaming. Finn was totally freaking out. But, like the dutiful boyfriend he was, Finn held Rachel's hand as they waited for the new little life to come into the world.

"You can do it, Barbra!" Rachel shouted.

"Babe, you're gonna scare her if you keep screaming at her," Finn chuckled. Rachel quickly glared at him before turning her attention back to her mare. The horse was lying on the ground, her breathing accelerated as she went through labor. The father of the foal was Finn's horse, Travis, and Rachel hoped that the baby horse looked like its mother. Finn was rooting for a little Travis Jr.

They had been in the stables for over three hours when Barbra finally pushed the foal out.

"There she is!" Rachel squealed excitedly, clapping her hands.

"You mean there _he_ is," Finn corrected with a wide smile.

"Finn, that is a girl. I know it," Rachel said firmly. Finn chuckled before they turned their attention back to Barbra and the new little horse.

It was brown like Barbra with white spots like Travis and was so cute that Rachel found herself crying. Finn wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closely into his side. This wasn't his first time witnessing a horse giving birth, but Rachel had never seen it before.

He was surprised when she started sobbing when the horse took its first steps later that night.

"My baby had a baby," she murmured, wiping her eyes.

"So that makes you a grandma," Finn joked. Rachel laughed before elbowing him playfully in the ribs.

"I can't wait until we have our own," Rachel murmured, fondly looking down at Barbra with her little foal.

"Horses?" Finn asked confusedly. "We already have some."

"No, Finn," Rachel said patiently. "Children."

"Oh, yeah," Finn replied, sounding embarrassed. "Me neither." He smiled and kissed her on top of the head. He could totally see Rachel giving birth to their kids.

Well, it wouldn't be in a barn or anything, but he could see it. They already agreed that they wanted a couple of kids to make their own little family.

"What do we do now?" Rachel asked a little while later. He knew that it was really early in the morning and Finn had something he wanted to do before they had to start on chores for the day.

"Barbra's got it under control," Finn said. He grabbed her hand and tugged on it gently, trying to pull her away.

"But it needs a name!" Rachel said quickly.

"Right," Finn murmured. He waited until the tiny horse walked by and looked for a certain… indicator… that would tell them if the foal was a boy or a girl.

"You were right," Finn said, sounding a little bummed. "It's a girl." Rachel squealed and clapped her hands excitedly again.

"I knew it!" she said happily. "Then it has to be Fannie!"

"But Rach," Finn murmured. "Why would you name a horse after someone's ass?" Rachel smacked his arm again.

"Fannie after Fannie Brice," she explained. "Barbra Streisand's best role, remember?"

"Oh. Right," Finn muttered.

"You hate it," Rachel said with a frown.

"I don't hate it," Finn said quickly. "I know how much the… human and horse Barbras mean to you, so it's a good name." Rachel smiled before reaching up on her tippy toes to plant a kiss on Finn's cheek.

He then convinced her to take a walk around the ranch. His watch said that it was four in the morning and it wouldn't make much sense to try and sleep for an hour.

Finn felt nervous as they walked. He'd never really done anything like this before and didn't know what to say or how to say it or anything.

He thought about putting it off another day, like he already had a handful of times before, but he wanted to do this. He was just worried about how Rachel would react.

She always surprised him.

"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked curiously as they walked with their fingers intertwined. Finn abruptly stopped walking and dropped her hand before turning to face her.

"I need to ask you something," he said. His tone made Rachel curious and a little nervous.

"Go ahead," she said with a nod.

"First, I need you to promise me that you won't say anything until I ask you to," he said. "I mean, I know that's hard for you, but I need you to promise me."

"Okay. I promise," Rachel said, her curiosity piqued. Finn took a deep breath and reached his hand into his pocket.

"I never thought I could fall in love…" he began. "I knew everyone in this town and I tried to picture myself with each girl, trying to figure out which one could fall in love with me… But it didn't work because you didn't live here yet." Rachel smiled at him but didn't interrupt.

"And then when you showed up, I thought you were beautiful, but I didn't think that someone like you could fall for a country boy like me. I didn't see it coming. Mom swears she did, but anyway…" Finn laughed. "The fact is, I did fall in love with you and you fell in love with me. No matter how crazy that looks or sounds to others, I know it's right. That we're right together."

He pulled his hand out of his pocket. Rachel's eyes grew wide as he opened the tiny box the same time that be bent down on one knee.

"So, Rachel Berry, will you marry me?" he asked.

Finn totally expected her to jump up and down like she did earlier. He thought she was going to lift him up by the front of his shirt and pepper his face with kisses.

He knows her, knows everything about her, but she still manages to surprise him.

Instead of doing what he expected, she leaned forward and kissed him gently on his lips. She pulled away slowly and looked into his eyes.

"Yes," she whispered, her smile lighting up her face. Finn jumped up and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, whispering "I love you" over and over again into his ear.

"I love you, too," he replied, happy tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Rachel pulled back and kissed him again; he could feel her tears hit his cheeks. When his lips separated from hers, he looked deep into her eyes.

The way she answered him surprised him, but not the answer itself.

Another thing that didn't surprise him was the amount of love and happiness he saw on her face. He was pretty sure it was obvious on his face, too.

THE END

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A/N: I am so sad this story is over, but I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all for sticking with it and for leaving all of your kind comments! Thank you!

Until next time! :)


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